MINORITY  REPORT 

OF  “THE 

COMMISSION 

TO 

Revise  and  Codify  the 
Election  Laws  of 
Pennsylvania 

MADE  BY 

WILLIAM  COLEMAN  FREEMAN 

TO 

The  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  in  General  Assembly  at 
the  Session  of  1913 


SUBJECTS 

Extension  of  Direct  Primary  System, 

Government  of  Cities  by  Commission, 
Woman  Suffrage,  Short  Ballot, 

Assistance  to  Voters,  Limitation  of  Campaign  Expenditures, 

Memoranda  Election  Laws  of  Various  States. 

BILLS  ANNEXED 

Commission  Form  of  Government  for  Cities,  including  Initiative, 
Referendum  and  Recall. 

Extending  Method  of  Nomination  by  Direct  Vote  to  include  all 
Elective  State  Officers  and  Preference  Vote  for  U.  S.  Senator. 

Presidential  Preference  Primary. 


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the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Com¬ 
monwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly : 

Having  had  the  honor  to  be  appointed  a  member  of 
Commission  to  Codify  and  Revise  the  Election  Laws 
of  Pennsylvania,  by  the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth, 
in  pursuance  of  a  joint  resolution  approved  the  thirteenth 
day  of  May,  A.  D.  1909,  I  herewith  present  the  following 
report,  dissenting  herein  from  some  of  the  views  expressed 
in  the  one  presented  by  my  colleagues. 

Attached  to  this  report  are  three  bills,  which  I  present, 
trusting  for  the  favorable  action  thereon  of  your  honorable 
bodies,  providing  for: 

1.  Commission  Form  of  Government  for  Cities,  Bor¬ 
oughs  and  Towns,  including  Initiative,  Referendum  and 
Recall.  (See  page  18.) 

2.  The  abolition  of  State  conventions  by  the  extension 
of  the  method  of  nomination  by  the  direct  vote  of  the 
people  so  as  to  include  the  offices  of  Governor,  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  State  Treasurer, 
Auditor-General  and  Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs.  (See 
page  9.) 

(a) .  A  direct  vote  by  the  elector  for  his  preference 
of  the  candidates  for  the  office  of  United  States  Senator, 
is  also  provided  by  this  bill. 

(b) .  A  requirement  that  candidates  for  the  office  of 
State  Senator,  or  member  of  the  State  House  of  Repre¬ 
sentatives,  shall  sign  an  anti-election  statement  that  he 
will,  or  will  not,  if  elected,  vote  for  that  candidate  for 

fr 

United  States  Senator  who  receives  the  highest  number 
A  of  votes,  is  also  provided  by  this  bill. 


To 

3 


c*  >  the 


2 


3.  Presidential  Preference  Primary,  which  provides 
for  the  direct  expression  of  the  choice  of  the  people  for  a 
candidate  for  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 
(See  page  40.) 

EXTENSION  OF  DIRECT  PRIMARY  SYSTEM. 

Nation-wide  changes  in  the  election  laws  of  the  various 
commonwealths  have  been  made  in  recent  years.  But  in 
no  time  have  the  revisions  been  so  numerous  and  so  marked 
as  during  the  past  two  years,  when  nearly  one-half  of  the 
States  have  radically  altered  their  election  laws.  The  new 
acts  in  every  instance,  including  other  improvements,  were 
evidently  drawn  for  the  main  purpose  of  placing  the  func¬ 
tion  of  naming  candidates  for  elective  public  place  in  the 
hands  of  the  people  by  means  of  the  direct  primary  system. 

Many  have  been  led  to  suppose  by  its  opponents  that 
the  direct  primary  system  is  a  fad,  an  experiment.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  the  method  is  as  old  as  the  history  of  our 
government,  and  the  “town-hall  meetings”  as  conducted 
by  our  grandsires  was  the  first  expression  of  the  direct 
primary. 

Thirty-four  states  now  nominate  by  means  of  the 
direct  primary.  Twenty-eight  of  these  states  have  extended 
the  system  to  nomination  of  candidates  for  United  States 
Senator  and  twelve  have  included  Presidential  preference 
primaries.  New  York,  Massachusetts,  New  Jersey,  Illinois, 
Ohio,  Nebraska,  Oregon,  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  South 
Dakota,  Wyoming,  Kansas,  Washington,  Wisconsin  and 
California  are  among  the  states  that  have  made  changes 
in  their  election  laws  within  the  past  two  years. 

The  rapid  spread  of  the  direct  primary  system,  its 
great  favor  with  the  people,  I  submit,  is  a  verdict  in  con¬ 
firming  my  belief  that  the  direct  primary  should  not  only 
be  extended  to  all  of  the  elective  offices  in  the  Common¬ 
wealth  of  Pennsylvania,  but  to  the  naming  of  the  United 
State  Senators,  and  as  a  means  of  giving  the  people  of  the 
Commonwealth  an  opportunity  for  the  individual  expres- 


3 


sion  of  their  preference  for  a  candidate  for  President, 
hence  the  bill  that  I  have  prepared  and  made  a  part  of  this 
report. 

GOVERNMENT  OF  CITIES  BY  A  COMMISSION. 

Recognizing  a  widespread  desire  on  the  part  of  a 
number  of  cities  in  this  Commonwealth  to  adopt  commis¬ 
sion  government,  after  studying  the  various  laws  of  other 
States  on  the  subject,  I  instructed  the  Secretary  of  the 
Commission,  William  H.  Hay,  to  draft  a  bill  on  the  lines 
of  the  New  Jersey  Act.  This  bill,  through  its  provisions, 
permits  cities  to  adopt  commission  government  by  the  vote 
of  the  people. 

The  success  of  commission  government  in  the  rebuild¬ 
ing  of  Galveston,  Texas,  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
country  to  the  possibilities  of  the  system  of  governing  cities 
by  a  commission.  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  was  one  of  the  first 
to  apply  it  to  the  administration  of  its  civic  affairs.  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  soon  followed,  and  it  is  now  in  force  in  over 
two  hundred  cities  in  the  country. 

In  regard  to  the  question  of  the  Initiative,  Referendum 
and  Recall,  these  institutions  are  provided  for  in  the  accom¬ 
panying  bill  for  commission  form  of  government  for  cities. 
Provision  has  been  made  therein  that  every  city  having  a 
population  of  one  million  or  above  shall  be  governed  by  a 
Board  of  seven  Commissioners;  over  one  hundred  thou¬ 
sand,  by  five,  and  under  one  hundred  thousand,  by  three 
Commissioners.  After  their  election  the  members  elect 
one  of  their  number  “Mayor.”  The  Board  of  Commission¬ 
ers  shall  have  and  possess  all  administrative,  judicial  and 
legislative  powers  and  duties  now  exercised  by  the  Mayor, 
the  Directors,  and  the  City  Council.  The  duties,  according 
to  the  number  of  Commissioners,  are  divided  into  depart¬ 
ments,  as  follows : 

In  cities  governed  by  a  Board  of  Seven  Commissioners : 

i.*  Department  of  Public  Affairs. 


4 


2.  Department  of  Revenue  and  Finance. 

3.  Department  of  Public  Safety. 

4.  Department  of  Public  Works  and  Highways. 

5.  Department  of  Parks  and  Public  Property. 

6.  Department  of  Health,  Sanitation  and  Charities. 

7.  Department  of  Supplies. 

In  cities  governed  by  a  Board  of  Five  Commissioners: 

1.  Department  of  Public  Affairs 

2.  Department  of  Revenue,  Finance  and  Supplies. 

3.  Department  of  Public  Safety  and  Public  Property. 

4.  Department  of  Public  Works  and  Highways. 

5.  Department  of  Health,  Sanitation  and  Charities. 

In  cities  governed  by  a  Board  of  Three  Commissioners  : 

1.  Department  of  Public  Affairs,  Public  Safety,  Pub¬ 
lic  Health  and  Sanitation. 

2.  Department  of  Revenue,  Finance  and  Supplies. 

3.  Department  of  Public  Works,  Highways  and  Pub¬ 
lic  Property. 

Believing,  as  I  do,  in  the  short  ballot  and  in  the  con¬ 
centration  of  responsibility  in  the  government  of  munici¬ 
palities,  I  am  constrained  to  strongly  urge  the  passage  of 
an  act  which  will  enable  its  adoption  by  cities  in  this  Com¬ 
monwealth  which  desire  government  by  commission. 

WOMAN  SUFFRAGE. 

I  cannot  concur  in  the  action  of  my  colleagues  in 
returning  with  a  negative  recommendation  a  bill  to  amend 
the  Constitution  to  provide  for  equal  suffrage.  This  bill 
was  referred  to  the  Commission  by  the  State  Senate  Com¬ 
mittee  on  Judiciary  General. 


5 


Twenty-eight  states  have  legislated  the  right  to  vote 
to  women,  nine  of  the  states  having  equal  suffrage.  There 
is  sufficient  demand  for  this  legislation  as  to  justify  a 
doubt  as  to  the  desires  of  the  people  of  this  Commonwealth. 
The  question  of  equal  suffrage  is  one  of  such  importance 
that  I  feel  we  have  no  right  to  deny  the  people  the  privilege 
of  voting  upon  it. 

States  having  equal  suffrage,  including  the  date  of  such 
legislation,  are:  Wyoming,  1869;  Colorado,  1893;  Idaho, 
1896;  Utah,  1896;  California,  1911;  Arizona,  1912;  Kan¬ 
sas,  1912;  Oregon,  1912,  and  Washington,  1910. 

I  therefore  recommend  the  passage  of  a  Constitutional 
Amendment  permitting  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  to  vote 
upon  this  measure.  In  making  this  recommendation,  I  wish 
to  emphasize  the  fact  that  it  is  not  to  be  taken  as  an  expres¬ 
sion  of  my  personal  views  upon  Woman  Suffrage.  I  am 
prompted  to  assume  this  position  by  a  sense  of  fair  play, 
and  a  desire  to  see  this  question  settled  by  the  people. 

SHORT  BALLOT. 

In  many  instances  the  ballot  can  be  shortened  only  by 
means  of  Constitutional  Amendment,  but  the  demand  is 
so  widespread  that  it  seems  proper  to  call  attention  to  some 
of  the  things  that  could  be  thus  accomplished. 

State  officers,  such  as  State  Treasurer,  Auditor-Gen¬ 
eral  and  Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs,  are  business  officers, 
requiring  chiefly  business  experience  coupled  with  honesty. 
Popular  interest  in  these  offices  is  at  a  minimum.  Nor  are 
the  people  of  the  entire  State  in  a  position  to  judge  of  the 
business  qualifications  of  the  candidates  by  their  appearance 
on  the  stump.  How  can  a  voter  in  an  eastern  county  be 
expected  to  pass  upon  the  qualifications  of  a  candidate  for 
State  Treasurer  from  Pittsburgh,  for  example.  Political 
considerations  enter  too  much  into  the  selection  of  men  to 
fill  State  offices  of  a  business  character — often  to  the  detri¬ 
ment  of  the  people. 


6 


The  Constitution  should  be  so  altered  as  to  provide 
for  the  appointment  by  the  Governor  of  the  Auditor-Gen¬ 
eral,  State  Treasurer,  and  Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs. 
With  this  added  power  in  the  hands  of  the  Governor,  the 
people  would  be  even  more  careful  in  selecting  the  best 
candidate  for  this  position.  I  am  convinced  that  the  more 
important  the  office  of  Governor  is  made,  and  the  greater 
the  power  bestowed,  the  more  care  will  be  exercised  in 
filling  this  office.  And  in  the  event  of  poor  appointments, 
the  people  may  know  just  where  to  place  the  responsibility. 

If  the  power  to  appoint  State  officers  was  vested  in 
the  Governor,  a  safeguard  could  be  provided,  if  desired, 
through  a  provision  for  their  recall  by  the  Legislature  at 
its  biennial  session,  or  by  popular  vote.  If  by  the  latter,  I 
would  favor  the  system  of  Party  Recall.  For  my  part,  I 
do  not  believe  in  recall  except  as  applied  to  Commission 
Form  of  Government  for  Cities,  where  it  is  a  necessary 
safeguard. 

ASSISTANCE  OF  VOTERS. 

LTnder  the  General  Election  Laws  of  this  State,  “if 
any  voter  declares  to  the  judge  of  election  that  by  reason 
of  any  disability  he  desires  assistance  in  the  preparation  of 
his  ballot,  he  shall  be  permitted  by  the  judge  of  election  to 
select  a  qualified  voter  of  the  election  district  to  aid  him  in 
the  preparation  of  his  ballot,  such  preparation  being  made 
in  the  voting  compartment.”  Under  the  laws  of  this  State 
regulating  Uniform  Primaries  *  *  *  no  elector  shall 

be  permitted  to  receive  any  assistance  in  marking  his  ballot, 
unless  he  shall  first  make  an  affidavit  that  he  cannot  read 
the  names  on  the  ballot,  or  that  by  reason  of  physical  dis¬ 
ability  he  is  unable  to  mark  his  ballot.”  Gross  abuses  have 
grown  up  under  the  provisions  of  the  former  law,  and  I 
am  heartily  in  favor  of  regulating  the  assistance  of  voters 
at  General  Elections  in  a  manner  now  applying  at  Uniform 
Primaries.  It  has  been  urged  that  it  would  be  too  difficult 
to  enforce  such  limitations  in  assistance  at  General  Elec- 


7 


tions,  but  if  separate  ballot  systems,  which  the  Commission 
has  recommended  shall  be  adopted,  there  can  be  no  good 
reason  why  voters  should  not  be  thus  limited  in  their 
assistance  to  cast  their  ballots.  During  the  session  of  the 
Legislature  of  1907,  I  spoke  in  favor  of  a  bill,  then  pro¬ 
posed,  applying  these  provisions  to  the  General  Election, 
and  in  accordance  with  my  position  then  taken,  I  urgently 
recommend  the  enactment  into  a  law  of  this  additional 
safeguard  to  honest  elections. 

Since  then  I  have  joined  my  colleagues  on  the  Commis¬ 
sion  in  recommending  the  enactment  of  a  similar  provision 
contained  in  the  report  of  the  Commission  to  the  Legisla¬ 
ture  of  1911,  and  I  earnestly  concur  in  the  same  recom¬ 
mendation  which  is  repeated  in  the  majority  report. 

LIMITATION  OF  CAMPAIGN  EXPENDITURES. 

I  have  not  prepared  a  bill  covering  this  subject,  but  I 
desire  to  bring  this  matter  to  the  attention  of  the  Legisla¬ 
ture  in  the  hope  that  some  law  will  be  enacted  which  will 
limit  the  amount  of  money  a  candidate  for  public  office 
may  lawfully  expend.  Public  office  is  not  a  chattel,  to  be 
purchased  by  the  highest  bidder.  It  is  a  public  trust.  Too 
often  have  men  attained  office,  not  by  reason  of  their  ability, 
but  only  because  of  the  lavish  expenditure  of  money.  And 
while  the  Corrupt  Practice  Act  defines  the  purposes  for 
which  money  may  be  spent,  it  places  no  limit  upon  the 
amount.  The  amount  to  which  a  candidate  should  be 
limited  should  be  based  upon  a  consideration  of  the  salary, 
and  the  size  of  the  constituency.  The  recent  act  of  Con¬ 
gress,  limiting  the  amount  which  candidates  for  the  United 
States  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives  may  law¬ 
fully  expend,  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  which  should 
enable  the  candidate  of  moderate  means  to  compete  with 
his  more  wealthy  rival.  It  now  remains  for  the  State  to 
continue  the  good  work  by  placing  proper  restrictions  upon 
the  expenditures  of  candidates  for  state,  county  and 
municipal  offices. 


8 


CONDENSED  MEMORANDUM  OF  THE  ELECTION 
LAWS  OF  THE  VARIOUS  STATES. 


There  will  accompany  the  majority  report,  as  a  part 
of  the  same,  a  comprehensive  digest  of  the  election  laws  of 
the  various  States.  I  commend  this  digest  to  the  members 
of  your  honorable  bodies  as  a  ready  means  of  obtaining 
valuable  information  in  re  the  election  laws  of  our  sister 
States.  The  data  for  this  digest  was  collected  and  arranged 
by  Mr.  William  H.  Hay,  the  Secretary  of  the  Commission. 

A  recapitulation  of  this  digest  shows  the  following 
interesting  facts: 

RECAPITULATION. 


Registration. 

Personal  Registration 
and  Party  Enrollment,  17  States 
Personal  Registration 
without  Party  Enroll¬ 


ment  . 24  States 

Other  methods  .  7  States 

Nomination. 

Uniform  Primary  Di¬ 
rect  . 30  States 

Party  Primary  Direct  . .  4  States 
Party  Primary  . 14  States 

Ballot. 

New  York  Form . 27  States 

Massachusetts  Form  ...  15  States 

No  Legal  Form  . 4  States 

Other  .  2  States 


Woman  Suffrage. 

Equal  Suffrage  .  9  States 

Limited  Suffrage  . 19  States 

Initiative,  Referendum 
and  Recall. 

Initiative  . 15  States 

Referendum  . 16  States 

Recall  .  8  States 

Preference  Primary. 

Presidential  . 12  States 

Senatorial  . 28  States 


I  concurred  in  and  voted  in  favor  of  the  bills  which 
will  be  submitted  with  the  report  of  my  colleagues  provid¬ 
ing  for  a  State-wide  party  enrollment;  a  system  of  selling 
poll  taxes  at  the  polls  on  registration  days;  the  separate 
ballot  system;  designating  a  single  court  for  filing  applica¬ 
tions  for  preempting  party  names  and  increasing  the  num¬ 
ber  of  signers  to  the  petition  for  the  same;  and  provid¬ 
ing  for  the  payment  of  mileage  to  the  inspector  in  coun¬ 
try  districts  for  returning  ballot  boxes  after  the  election. 


Respectfully  submitted, 


William  Coleman  Freeman 


UNIFORM  PRIMARIES 

AN  ACT 


To  amend  an  amendment  approved  April  sixth,  nineteen  hundred  and 
eleven,  of  an  act  “Providing  a  uniform  method  of  electing  certain 
party  officers,  and  delegates  to  the  State  and  National  conventions, 
and  of  making  nomination  to  certain  public  offices ;  providing  for 
the  payment  of  the  expenses  of  the  same ;  making  certain  viola¬ 
tions  thereof  misdemeanors,  and  prescribing  penalties  for  the 
violations  of  its  provisions,”  approved  the  seventeenth  day  of 
February,  Anno  Domini  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  six,  by 
providing  that  all  candidates  for  elective  public  offices  now  nom¬ 
inated  by  delegates  to  State  conventions  shall  be  nominated  by 
direct  vote  or  as  otherwise  specified ;  providing  that  the  names  of 
candidates  for  the  office  of  United  States  Senator  shall  be  placed 
on  the  official  primary  election  ballots  of  their  respective  parties; 
providing  that  candidates  for  the  Legislature  shall  make  and  sign 
statements  regarding  vote  on  United  States  Senator ;  providing 
for  the  number  of  signers  to  the  nominating  petition  for  candi¬ 
dates  for  the  office  of  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  Secretary 
of  the  Commonwealth,  State  Treasurer,  Auditor-General,  and 
Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs;  providing  that  the  signed  consent 
of  the  candidates  shall  accompany  every  petition  to  place  his  name 
upon  the  primary  ballot;  providing  that  no  candidate’s  name  shall 
be  printed  upon  the  ballot  of  more  than  one  party,  except  with 
the  consent  of  every  such  party,  and  providing  for  the  withdrawal 
of  candidates. 

Section  i.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  section  two  of 
an  act,  entitled  “An  act  providing  a  uniform  method  of 
electing  certain  party  officers  and  delegates  to  the  State  and 
National  conventions,  and  of  making  nominations  for  cer¬ 
tain  public  offices ;  providing  for  the  payment  of  the  expenses 
of  the  same;  making  certain  violations  thereof  misdemean¬ 
ors,  and  prescribing  penalties  for  the  violations  of  its  pro¬ 
visions, M  approved  February  seventeenth,  Anno  Domini  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  six,  which  reads  as  follows,  to 
wit : 


9 


10 


Section  2.  From  and  after  the  approval  of  this  act 
one  primary  shall  be  held  each  year,  in  every  election  dis¬ 
trict  of  this  Commonwealth  in  which  nominations  are  to  be 
made  or  delegates  or  party  officers  elected  as  herein  pro¬ 
vided.  The  said  primaries  shall  be  held  on  the  last  Saturday 
of  September  in  all  odd-numbered  years,  and  on  the  second 
Saturday  of  April  in  all  even-numbered  years.  The  primary 
held  on  the  last  Saturday  of  September  shall  be  known  as 
the  Fall  primary,  and  the  primary  held  on  the  second  Satur¬ 
day  of  April  shall  be  known  as  the  Spring  primary. 

Delegates  to  State  and  National  conventions,  except 
delegates-at-large  to  National  conventions,  which  shall  be 
elected  by  the  State  convention,  shall  be  elected  at  the 
Spring  primary,  throughout  the  Commonwealth,  by  any 
party  or  body  of  electors  one  of  whose  candidates,  at  either 
the  general  or  municipal  election  preceding  polled  two  per 
centum  of  the  largest  entire  vote  cast  in  the  State  for  any 
candidate  at  the  last  general  election.  Candidates  for  all 
offices  to  be  filled  at  the  general  election  with  the  exception 
of  those  nominated  by  National  or  State  conventions,  shall 
be  nominated  at  the  Spring  primary.  Candidates  for  all 
offices  to  be  filled  at  the  municipal  election  shall  be  nomi¬ 
nated  at  the  Fall  primary;  and  such  party  officers  as  are 
provided  for  by  the  rules  of  the  several  political  parties,  to 
be  elected  by  vote  of  the  party  electors,  shall  be  elected  at  the 
Spring  primary,  by  any  political  party  or  body  of  electors 
one  of  whose  candidates,  at  either  the  general  or  municipal 
election  preceding  such  primary,  polled  two  per  centum  of 
the  largest  entire  vote  cast  in  the  political  district,  in  which 
nominations  are  to  be  made  or  candidates  elected,  for  any 
candidate  at  the  last  general  election. 

No  delegates  to  State  or  National  conventions,  or  offi¬ 
cers  of  parties,  shall  be  elected,  or  candidates  for  the  public 
offices  herein  specified,  be  nominated,  in  any  other  manner 
than  as  set  forth  in  this  act ;  Provided,  That  nothing  herein 
contained  shall  prevent  the  nomination  of  candidates  for 
borough  or  township  offices,  or  other  offices  not  herein  spe- 


11 


cifically  enumerated,  in  the  manner  provided  by  existing 
laws ;  or  any  association  of  electors,  not  constituting  a  party, 
from  nominating  candidates  by  nomination  papers,  as  is 
provided  by  existing  laws. 

This  act  shall  not  apply  to  the  nomination  of  candi¬ 
dates  for  Presidential  electors,  or  to  the  nomination  of  can¬ 
didates  to  be  voted  for  at  special  elections  to  fill  the  vacan¬ 
cies  ;  but  it  shall  not  be  construed  to  prevent  the  nomination 
of  Presidential  electors  at  primaries,  if  the  rules  of  the 
respective  parties  so  provide,”  be  and  the  same  is  hereby 
amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows : 

Section  2.  From  and  after  the  approval  of  this  act 
one  primary  shall  be  held  each  year,  in  every  election  dis¬ 
trict  of  this  Commonwealth  in  which  nominations  are  to  be 
made  or  delegates  or  party  officers  elected  as  herein  pro¬ 
vided.  The  said  primaries  shall  be  held  on  the  last  Saturday 
of  September  in  all  odd-numbered  years,  and  on  the  second 
Saturday  of  April  in  all  even-numbered  years.  The  primary 
held  on  the  last  Saturday  of  September  shall  be  known  as 
the  Fall  primary,  and  the  primary  held  on  the  second  Satur¬ 
day  in  April  shall  be  known  as  the  Spring  primary. 

Delegates  to  National  conventions,  shall  be  elected  at 
the  Spring  primary,  throughout  the  Commonwealth,  by  any 
party  or  body  of  electors,  one  of  whose  candidates  at  either 
the  general  or  municipal  election  preceding  polled  two  per 
centum  of  the  largest  entire  vote  cast  in  the  State  for  any 
candidate  at  the  last  general  election.  Candidates  for  all 
offices  to  be  filled  at  the  general  election,  with  the  exception 
of  those  nominated  by  National  conventions,  shall  be  nomi¬ 
nated  at  the  Spring  primary.  Candidates  for  all  offices  to 
be  filled  at  the  municipal  election  shall  be  nominated  at  the 
Fall  primary;  and  such  party  officers  as  are  provided  for  by 
the  rules  of  the  several  political  parties,  to  be  elected  by  vote 
of  the  party  electors,  shall  be  elected  at  the  Spring  primary, 
by  any  political  party  or  body  of  electors  one  of  whose  can¬ 
didates,  at  either  the  general  or  municipal  election  preceding 


12 


such  primary,  polled  two  per  centum  of  the  largest  entire 
vote  cast  in  the  political  district,  in  which  nominations  are 
to  be  made  or  candidates  elected,  for  any  candidate  at  the 
last  general  election. 

No  delegates  to  National  conventions,  or  officers  of 
parties,  shall  be  elected,  or  candidates  for  the  public  offices 
herein  specified  be  nominated,  in  any  other  manner  than 
as  set  forth  in  this  act:  Provided,  That  party  candidates 
for  the  office  of  United  States  senator  shall  have  their  names 
placed  in  the  official  primary  election  ballots  of  their  respec¬ 
tive  parties ,  in  the  manner  provided  in  this  act  for  State 
officers;  and  also  provided  that  nothing  herein  contained 
shall  prevent  the  nomination  of  candidates  for  borough  or 
township  offices,  or  other  offices  not  herein  specifically 
enumerated,  in  the  manner  provided  by  existing  laws;  or 
any  association  of  electors,  not  constituting  a  party,  from 
nominating  candidates  by  nomination  papers,  as  is  provided 
by  existing  laws. 

This  act  shall  not  apply  to  the  nomination  of  candi¬ 
dates  for  Presidential  electors,  or  to  the  nomination  of 
candidates  to  be  voted  for  at  special  elections  to  fill  the 
vacancies,  but  it  shall  not  be  construed  to  prevent  the  nomi¬ 
nation  of  Presidential  electors  at  primaries,  if  the  rules  of 
the  respective  parties  so  provide. 

Section  2.  That  section  three  of  said  act,  which  reads 
as  follows : 

“Section  3.  On  or  before  the  ninth  Saturday  preced¬ 
ing  the  primary,  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  shall 
send  to  the  county  commissioners  in  each  county  a  written 
notice,  setting  forth  the  number  of  Congressmen  and  officers 
of  the  Commonwealth  not  nominated  by  State  conventions, 
to  be  elected  or  voted  for  therein  at  the  next  succeeding 
election. 

On  or  before  the  same  date,  in  even  numbered  years, 
the  chairman  of  the  State  Committee  of  each  party  shall 
send  to  the  county  commissioners  a  written  notice,  setting 


13 


forth  the  number  of  delegates  to  be  elected  in  such  county 
to  the  State  and  National  conventions  of  such  party. 

On  or  before  the  ninth  Saturday  preceding  the  Spring 
primary  the  chairman  of  the  county  committee  of  each  party 
shall  send  to  the  county  commissioners  of  such  county  a 
written  notice,  setting  forth  the  names  of  all  party  officers 
to  be  filled  by  election  at  the  ensuing  primary. 

On  or  before  the  ninth  Saturday  preceding  the  Fall 
primary,  the  chairman  of  the  county  committee  of  each 
party,  shall  send  to  the  county  commissioners  of  such  county 
a  written  notice,  setting  forth  the  names  of  all  county  and 
city  offices  to  be  filled  by  the  election  at  the  ensuing  primary. 

Upon  receipt  of  such  notices,  and  beginning  within  one 
week  thereafter,  such  county  commissioners  shall  publish 
the  number  of  delegates  to  be  elected  to  the  State  and 
National  conventions  of  each  party,  together  with  the  names 
of  all  offices  for  which  nominations  are  to  be  made  or  candi¬ 
dates  for  the  party  offices  to  be  elected,  within  the  county, 
at  the  ensuing  primary,  at  least  one  week  for  three  successive 
weeks,  in  two  newspapers  of  general  circulation  published 
within  the  county,  wherever  such  course  is  possible.  Such 
newspapers,  so  far  as  practicable,  shall  be  representative  of 
different  political  parties,”  be  and  the  same  is  hereby 
amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows : 

Section  3.  On  or  before  the  ninth  Saturday  preced¬ 
ing  the  primary,  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  shall 
send  to  the  county  commissioners  in  each  county,  a  written 
notice,  setting  forth  the  number  of  Congressmen  and  officers 
of  the  Commonwealth  to  be  elected  or  voted  for  therein  at 
the  next  succeeding  election;  this  notice  in  a  year  preceding 
the  election  of  a  United  States  Senator  in  Congress  shall 
include  that  office. 

On  or  before  the  same  date,  in  even  numbered  years, 
the  chairman  of  the  State  Committee  of  each  party  shall 
send  to  the  county  commissioners  a  written  notice,  setting 


14 


forth  the  number  of  delegates  to  be  elected  in  such  county 
to  the  National  conventions  of  such  party. 

On  or  before  the  ninth  Saturday  preceding  the  Spring 
primary,  the  chairman  of  the  county  committee  of  each 
party  shall  send  to  the  county  commissioners  of  such  county 
a  written  notice  setting  forth  the  name  of  all  party  offices 
to  be  filled  by  election  at  the  ensuing  primary. 

On  or  before  the  ninth  Saturday  preceding  the  Fall 
primary,  the  chairman  of  the  county  committee  of  each 
party  shall  send  to  the  county  commissioners  of  such  county 
a  written  notice,  setting  forth  the  names  of  all  county  and 
city  offices  to  be  filled' by  the  election  of  the  ensuing  primary. 

Upon  receipt  of  such  notices,  and  beginning  within  one 
week  thereafter,  such  county  commissioners  shall  publish 
the  number  of  delegates  to  be  elected  to  the  National  con¬ 
ventions  of  each  party  together  with  the  names  of  all  offices 
for  which  nominations  are  to  be  made  or  candidates  for  the 
party  offices  to  be  elected,  within  the  county,  at  the  ensuing 
primary  at  least  once  each  week  for  three  successive  weeks 
in  two  newspapers  of  general  circulation  published  within 
the  county,  wherever  such  course  is  possible.  Such  news¬ 
papers,  so  far  as  practicable,  shall  be  representative  of 
different  political  parties. 

Section  3.  That  section  five  of  said  act  which  reads 
as  follows : 

Section  5.  The  names  of  candidates  shall  be  printed 
upon  the  official  ballot  of  a  designated  party,  upon  the 
filing  of  petitions,  signed  by  qualified  electors  of  the  political 
district  division  within  which  the  nomination  or  election  is  to 
be  made,  setting  forth  that  the  signers  thereof  are  members 
of  the  party  designated. 

The  said  petition,  in  the  case  of  candidates  for  Con¬ 
gress  or  for  State  offices,  shall  be  filed  at  least  four  weeks 
prior  to  the  primary,  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Common¬ 
wealth;  and  in  all  other  cases  shall  be  filed,  at  least  three 


15 


weeks  prior  to  the  primary,  with  the  county  commissioners 
of  the  respective  counties. 

The  number  of  signers  shall  be  as  follows : 

1.  Candidates  for  nomination  for  members  of  Con¬ 
gress,  Judges  of  the  various  courts,  and  State  Senator,  two 
hundred  qualified  electors. 

2.  Candidates  for  nomination  for  members  of  the 
State  House  of  Representatives,  and  for  offices  to  be  voted 
for  by  the  entire  county,  fifty  qualified  electors. 

3.  Candidates  for  nomination  for  all  other  offices, 
for  delegates  to  State  and  National  conventions,  and  for 
party  offices,  ten  qualified  electors/’  be  amended  to  read  as 
follows : 

“Section  5.  The  names  of  candidates  shall  be 
printed  upon  the  official  ballot  of  a  designated  party  upon 
the  filing  of  petitions  signed  by  qualified  electors  of  the 
political  district  or  division  within  which  the  nomination  or 
election  is  to  be  made,  setting  forth  that  the  signers  thereof 
are  members  of  the  party  designated  and  accompanied  by 
the  signed  consent  of  the  candidate ,  duly  acknowledged  in 
the  manner  provided  for  the  acknowledgment  of  deeds: 
Provided ,  That  after  a  petition  has  been  filed  to  place  the 
name  of  a  candidate  upon  the  ballot  of  any  party ,  no  petition 
shall  be  filed  to  place  his  name  upon  the  ballot  of  any  other 
party  unless  he  shall  first  withdraw  as  a  candidate  of  such 
party ,  or  unless  such  petition  shall  be  accompanied  by  the 
written  consent  of  every  party  whose  nomination  he  seeks , 
signified  by  the  certificate  of  the  chairman  of  the  respective 
party  committees  for  the  political  district  for  which  said 
nomination  is  to  be  made ,  that  such  committee  consents 
thereto. 

The  said  petition  in  the  case  of  candidates  for  United 
States  Senate,  Congress,  or  for  State  offices,  shall  be  filed 
at  least  four  weeks  prior  to  the  primary  with  the  Secretary 
of  the  Commonwealth,  and  in  all  other  cases  shall  be  filed 


16 


at  least  three  weeks  prior  to  the  primary  with  the  county 
commissioners  of  the  respective  counties. 

The  number  of  signers  shall  be  as  follows : 

1.  Candidates  for  nomination  for  Governor  and 
United  States  Senator,  ioo  qualified  electors  in  each  county 
in  the  Commomvealth. 

2.  Candidates  for  nomination  for  Lieutenant-Gov¬ 
ernor,  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  State  Treasurer, 
Auditor-General  and  Secretary  Internal  Affairs,  fifty  quali¬ 
fied  electors  in  each  county  of  the  Commonwealth. 

3  Candidates  for  nomination  for  members  of  Con¬ 
gress,  Judges  of  the  various  courts  and  State  Senators,  two 
hundred  qualified  electors. 

4.  Candidates  for  nomination  for  members  of  the 
State  House  of  Representatives  and  for  offices  to  be  voted 
for  by  the  entire  county,  fifty  qualified  electors. 

5.  Candidates  for  nomination  for  all  other  offices, 
for  delegates  to  conventions  and  for  party  offices,  ten 
qualified  electors. 

Candidates  for  the  office  of  State  Senator,  or  member 
of  the  State  House  of  Representatives,  or  for  election  to 
either  of  such  offices  at  any  primary  election  next  preceding 
the  election  of  a  United  States  Senator  in  Congress,  shall 
include  with  his  affidavit,  one  of  the  two  statements  herein¬ 
after  set  forth  in  this  section  and  subdivision,  and  his  failure 
to  include  either  of  such  statements  shall  he  a  valid  ground 
on  the  part  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  refusal  to  receive 
and  file  his  nomination  paper  or  papers.  Such  statements 
shall  be  in  substantially  the  following  form: 

Statement  No.  1. 

I  further  declare  to  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  and  to 
the  people  of  the . ( senatorial  or  assembly)  dis¬ 

trict  that  during  my  term  of  office,  without  regard  to  any 
individual  preference,  I  will  akmys  vote  for  that  candidate 


17 


for  United  States  Senator  in  Congress ,  who  shall  have 
received  for  that  office  the  highest  number  of  votes  cast  for 
that  position  at  the  general  election  next  preceding  the  elec¬ 
tion  of  a  senator  in  Congress. 

Signature  of  Candidate. 

Statement  No.  2. 

I  further  declare  to  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  and  to 

the  people  of  the  . ( senatorial  or  assembly) 

district ,  that  during  my  term  of  office ,  I  shall  consider  the 
vote  of  the  people  for  United  States  Senator  in  Congress  as 
nothing  more  than  a  recommendation,  which  I  shall  be  at 
liberty  wholly  to  disregard,  if  the  reasons  for  so  doing  seem 
to  me  sufficient. 


Signature  of  Candidate. 

On  the  ballot  used  at  the  primary  election,  after  or 
under  the  name  of  each  candidate  for  state  senator,  or 
assemblyman,  shall  appear  the  words,  “ Signed  statement 
No.  1”  or  “ Signed  statement  No.  2”  according  as  the  candi¬ 
date  included  with  his  affidavit “ Statement  No.  1,”  or  “ State¬ 
ment  No.  2.”  And  the  wording  of  both  f( Statement  No.  1” 
and  “Statement  No.  2 ”  shall  appear  at  length  on  the  face  of 
the  ballot  in  a  convenient  and  conspicuous  place. 

Any  person  for  whom  a  petition  has  been  filed  as  afore¬ 
said  may,  at  any  time  up  to  ten  days  before  the  primary, 
withdraw  his  name  with  the  same  effect  as  if  such  petition 
had  never  been  filed,  by  filing  in  the  office  in  which  such 
petition  was  filed  his  written  withdrawal,  duly  acknowledged 
in  the  manner  provided  for  the  acknowledgment  of  deeds. 


COMMISSION  GOVERNMENT  FOR 
CITIES,  ETC. 

AN  ACT 

Relating  to,  regulating  and  providing  for  the  government  of  cities, 
towns,  boroughs  and  other  municipalities  within  this  State. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. 

1.  All  cities,  towns,  boroughs  and  other  municipalities 
of  this  State  that  hereinafter  adopt  the  provisions  of  this 
act  shall  be  governed  as  herein  set  forth,  and  wherever  the 
word  “city”  or  “cities”  appears  in  this  act,  it  shall  be  con¬ 
strued  to  mean  “town”  or  “towns,”  “borough”  or  “bor¬ 
oughs,”  or  other  “municipality”  or  “municipalities.” 

2.  At  the  first  election  held  in  such  city  next  after 
the  adoption  of  the  provisions  of  this  act  as  herein  pro¬ 
vided,  there  shall  be  elected  in  such  cities,  by  the  duly 
authorized  voters  therein,  the  number  of  persons  as  herein¬ 
after  provided  to  be  commissioners  of  such  city,  each  of 
whom  shall  have  been  a  citizen  and  resident  of  such  city 
for  at  least  two  years  immediately  preceding  his  election 
as  such  commissioner,  who  shall  serve  as  such  commissioner 
until  the  third  Tuesday  in  May  in  the  fourth  year  follow¬ 
ing  such  election  and  until  their  successors  are  elected  and 
shall  have  duly  qualified  and  every  fourth  year  thereafter, 
at  the  regular  municipal  election  in  such  city,  there  shall  be 
elected  the  number  of  persons  as  hereinafter  provided  as 
commissioners  with  like  qualifications  to  serve  for  the 
term  of  four  years  and  until  their  successors  have  been 
elected  and  duly  qualified.  Should  any  vacancy  occur 
among  such  commissioners  the  remaining  commissioners 
shall,  within  thirty  days  thereafter,  elect  a  properly  qualified 
person  to  fill  such  vacancy  to  serve  for  the  unexpired  term. 

18 


19 


The  term  of  office  of  such  commissioners  first  elected  under 
the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  commence  on  the  first  Tues¬ 
day  following  such  election,  and  the  term  of  office  of  all 
succeeding  commissioners  shall  commence  on  the  third 
Tuesday  of  May  next  ensuing  after  their  election,  at  twelve 
o’clock,  noon,  and,  upon  the  organizing  of  the  commis¬ 
sioners  in  any  such  city,  elected  under  this  act,  the  City 
Council  or  other  governing  body  or  bodies  theretofore  act¬ 
ing  as  governing  body  or  bodies  in  such  city  and  having 
any  other  function  shall  be  ipso  facto  abolished,  and  the 
terms  of  all  councilmen,  civil  service  commissioners,  and  all 
other  officers,  whether  elective  or  appointive,  whose  offices 
shall  conflict  with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  immedi¬ 
ately  cease  and  determine,  providing,  however,  that  nothing 
herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to  effect  in  any  way, 
the  term  of  office  of  any  policeman,  fireman,  or  other 
employe  of  any  police  or  fire  department,  veteran  of  any 
war,  or  other  official  or  employe  now  protected  by  any 
tenure  of  office  act. 

Section  3.  Every  city,  having  by  the  last  preceding 
State  or  National  census,  one  million  population  or  above, 
shall  be  governed  by  a  board  of  commissioners  consisting 
of  seven  commissioners,  and  every  city  having,  by  the  last 
census,  one  hundred  thousand  or  over  population,  shall  be 
governed  by  a  board  of  commissioners  consisting  of  five 
commissioners,  and  every  city,  borough  or  town,  having, 
by  the  last  preceding  census,  under  one  hundred  thousand 
population,  shall  be  governed  by  a  board  of  commissioners 
consisting  of  three  commissioners  chosen  as  provided  by 
this  act,  each  of  whom  shall  have  the  right  to  vote  on  all 
questions  coming  before  the  board  of  commissioners;  pro¬ 
vided,  however,  that  the  number  of  the  commissioners  in  any 
city  may  be  increased  from  three  to  five  or  decreased  from 
five  to  three  by  an  ordinance  adopted  by  the  board  of  com¬ 
missioners  in  accordance  with  all  the  provisions  of  this  act. 
A  majority  of  the  members  of  the  board  of  commissioners 


20 


shall  constitute  a  quorum  and  the  affirmative  vote  of  a 
majority  of  all  the  members  shall  be  necessary  to  adopt 
any  motion,  resolution  or  ordinance,  or  pass  any  measure 
unless  otherwise  provided  for  in  this  act.  Every  resolution 
or  ordinance  shall  be  reduced  to  writing  and  read  before 
the  vote  is  taken  thereon,  and  the  vote  upon  every  such 
motion,  resolution  or  ordinance  shall  be  by  yeas  and  nays, 
and  shall  be  recorded.  At  the  first  meeting,  after  their 
election,  the  said  commissioners  shall  choose  one  of  their 
number  to  preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  board  of  commis¬ 
sioners,  and  he  shall  be  designated  “Mayor,”  but  he  shall 
have  no  power  to  veto  any  measure.  Every  resolution  or 
ordinance  passed  by  the  board  of  commissioners  must  be 
in  writing  and  signed  by  a  majority  of  all  the  commissioners. 

Section  4.  The  board  of  commissioners  shall  have 
and  possess  all  administrative,  judicial  and  legislative  powers 
and  duties  now  had  and  possessed  and  exercised  by  the 
Mayor  and  City  Council  and  all  other  executive  or  legisla¬ 
tive  bodies  in  said  city,  and  have  complete  control  over 
the  affairs  of  the  city  adopting  the  provisions  of  this  act. 
The  executive,  administrative  and  legislative  powers, 
authority  and  duties  in  such  city  shall  be  distributed  accord¬ 
ing  to  census  requirements  enumerated  in  Section  3  of 
this  act  as  follows :  The  executive,  administrative  and  leg¬ 
islative  powers,  authority  and  duties  in  such  city  allotted 
seven  commissioners  into  seven  departments ;  in  cities 
allotted  five  commissioners,  into  five  departments,  and  in 
cities  allotted  three  commissioners,  three  departments,  in 
order  as  follows : 

1.  Department  of  Public  Affairs. 

2.  Department  of  Revenue  and  Finance. 

3.  Department  of  Public  Safety. 

4.  Department  of  Public  Works  and  Highways. 

5.  Department  of  Parks  and  Public  Property. 

6.  Department  of  Health,  Sanitation  and  Charities. 

7.  Department  of  Supplies. 


m 


21 


In  cities  governed  by  a  board  of  five  commissioners : 

1.  Department  of  Public  Affairs. 

2.  Department  of  Revenue,  Finance  and  Supplies. 

3.  Department  of  Public  Safety  and  Public  Property. 

4.  Department  of  Public  Works  and  Highways. 

5.  Department  of  Health,  Sanitation  and  Charities. 

In  cities  governed  by  a  board  of  three  commissioners : 

1.  Department  of  Public  Affairs,  Public  Safety,  Pub¬ 
lic  Health  and  Sanitation. 

2.  Department  of  Revenue,  Finance  and  Supplies. 

3.  Department  of  Public  Works,  Highways  and  Pub¬ 
lic  Property. 

Section  5.  The  board  of  commissioners  shall  deter¬ 
mine  the  powers  and  duties  to  be  performed  by  each  depart¬ 
ment  and  assign  such  powers  and  duties  to  the  appropriate 
departments,  and  they  shall  prescribe  the  powers  and  duties 
of  all  officers  and  employes  and  they  may  assign  particular 
officers  and  employes  to  one  or  more  departments  and  may 
require  any  officer  or  employe  to  perform  duties  in  two 
or  more  departments  and  make  such  other  rules  and  regula¬ 
tions  as  may  be  necessary  or  proper  for  the  efficient  and 
economical  conduct  of  the  business  of  the  city. 

The  Mayor  shall  be  the  director  of  the  Department  of 
Public  Affairs,  and  the  board  of  commissioners  shall,  at 
the  first  regular  meeting,  after  the  election  of  its  members 
designate  by  majority  vote  one  commissioner  to  be  director 
of  the  Department  of  Revenue  and  Finance,  one  to  be 
director  of  the  Department  of  Public  Safety,  one  to  be 
director  of  the  Department  of  Public  Works  and  Highways, 
one  to  be  director  of  the  Department  of  Parks  and  Public 
Property,  one  to  be  director  of  the  Department  of  Health, 
Sanitation  and  Charities,  one  to  be  director  of  the  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Supplies,  except  that  upon  the  organization  of  a 
board  of  five  or  three  commissioners,  but  five  or  three 
departments  shall  be  designated  as  above  provided,  and, 
but  five  or  three  directors  voted  for,  and  such  designation 


22 


may  be  changed  whenever  it  appears  that  the  public  service 
would  be  benefited  thereby. 

The  board  of  commissioners  shall,  at  the  first  meeting, 
or  as  soon  as  may  be  after  organization,  create  such  sub¬ 
ordinate  boards  and  appoint  such  officers  as  it  may  deem 
necessary  for  the  proper  and  efficient  conduct  of  the  affairs 
of  the  city.  Any  board  created  may  be  abated,  or  any 
officer  or  employe  appointed  by  the  board  of  commissioners 
may  be  removed  from  office  at  any  time  for  cause,  after 
public  hearing,  and  such  board  of  commissioners  shall  be 
the  sole  judge  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  cause  of  such 
removal. 

The  Mayor  and  board  of  commissioners  shall  have 
suitable  offices  and  their  total  compensation  shall  be  as 
follows :  In  such  cities  having  by  the  last  preceding  State 
or  national  census,  more  than  one  million  population,  the 
Mayor’s  salary  shall  be  not  more  than  fifteen  thousand 
dollars,  annually,  and  that  of  each  commissioner  shall  be 
not  more  than  twelve  thousand  dollars  annually;  in  cities 
having,  by  the  last  census,  a  population  of  over  five  hundred 
thousand,  and  not  exceeding  one  million,  the  Mayor’s  annual 
salary  shall  not  be  more  than  twelve  thousand  dollars,  and 
that  of  each  commissioner  shall  not  be  more  than  ten  thou¬ 
sand  dollars ;  in  cities  having  from  one  hundred  thousand  to 
five  hundred  thousand  population,  the  Mayor’s  annual  salary 
shall  be  not  more  than  eight  thousand  dollars  and  that  of 
each  commissioner  shall  be  not  more  than  six  thousand  dol¬ 
lars  ;  in  cities,  boroughs  and  towns  having  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred  thousand  population,  the  Mayor’s  annual  salary 
shall  not  be  more  than  four  thousand  dollars  and  that  of 
each  commissioner  shall  not  be  more  than  twenty-five  hun¬ 
dred  dollars;  in  cities,  boroughs  and  towns  having  twenty- 
five  to  fifty  thousand  population,  the  Mayor’s  annual  salary 
shall  not  exceed  twenty-five  hundred  dollars,  and  that  of 
each  commissioner  shall  not  be  more  than  two  thousand 
dollars;  in  cities,  boroughs  and  towns  having  a  population 
from  twelve  to  twenty-five  thousand,  the  Mayor’s  annual 


23 


salary  shall  not  be  more  than  two  thousand  dollars  and 
that  of  each  commissioner  shall  not  be  more  than  fifteen 
hundred  dollars;  in  cities,  boroughs  and  towns  having  a 
population  of  from  five  to  twelve  thousand,  the  Mayor’s 
annual  salary  shall  not  be  more  than  fifteen  hundred  dollars 
and  that  of  each  commissioner  shall  not  be  more  than  one 
thousand  dollars;  in  cities,  boroughs  and  towns  having  a 
population  of  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  hundred,  the  Mayor’s 
annual  salary  shall  not  be  more  than  one  thousand  dollars 
and  that  of  each  commissioner  shall  not  be  more  than  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars;  in  cities,  boroughs  and  towns 
having  a  population  of  one  thousand  to  two  thousand  five 
hundred,  the  Mayor’s  annual  salary  shall  not  exceed  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  and  that  of  each  commissioner 
shall  not  exceed  more  than  five  hundred  dollars;  in  cities, 
boroughs  and  towns  having  a  population  from  five  hundred 
to  one  thousand,  the  Mayor’s  annual  salary  shall  not  be 
more  than  five  hundred  dollars  and  that  of  each  commis¬ 
sioner  shall  be  not  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars ; 
in  cities,  boroughs  and  towns  having  a  population  from  one 
hundred  to  five  hundred,  the  Mayor’s  annual  salary  shall 
not  be  more  than  one  hundred  dollars  and  that  of  each 
commissioner  not  more  than  seventy-five  dollars. 

The  salary  and  compensation  of  all  other  officers  and 
employes  of  the  city  shall  be  fixed  by  the  board  of  com¬ 
missioners  and  shall  be  payable  monthly  or  at  shorter 
periods,  as  they  shall  determine;  provided,  however,  that 
the  compensation  of  the  commissioners  shall  be  fixed  by  an 
ordinance  adopted  by  the  board  of  commissioners  imme¬ 
diately  after  the  organization  of  the  board,  in  accordance 
with  all  the  provisions  of  this  act.  The  compensation  so 
fixed  shall  not  be  increased  during  the  term  for  which  such 
commissioners  are  elected. 

Section  6.  The  board  of  commissioners  shall  desig¬ 
nate  the  time  of  holding  regular  meetings,  which  shall  be 
at  least  once  a  week,  and  special  meetings  may  be  called 


24 


from  time  to  time  by  the  mayor  or  by  two  commissioners. 
All  meetings  of  the  commissioners,  whether  regular  or 
special,  shall  be  open  to  the  public,  and  any  citizen  may  have 
access  to  the  minutes  upon  application  to  the  city  clerk. 

The  Mayor  shall  be  President  of  the  board  and  shall 
preside  at  its  meetings  and  supervise  all  departments  and 
report  to  the  board  for  its  action  all  matters  requiring  the 
attention  of  the  board  on  any  department.  Director  of 
the  Department  of  Revenue  and  Finance  shall  be  Vice- 
President  of  the  board,  and,  in  case  of  vacancy  in  the  office 
of  Mayor,  shall  perform  the  duties  of  that  office. 

Section  7.  Every  ordinance  or  resolution  appropri¬ 
ating  money,  ordering  any  street  improvement,  or  sewer, 
or  authorizing  the  making  of  any  contract  or  granting  any 
franchises,  or  the  right  to  occupy  or  use  the  streets,  high¬ 
ways,  bridges  or  public  places  of  the  city  for  any  purpose, 
shall  be  complete  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  finally  passed 
and  remain  on  file  with  the  Mayor,  for  public  inspection 
at  least  two  weeks  before  the  final  passage  or  adoption 
thereof.  No  franchise,  or  right  to  occupy  or  use  the  streets, 
highways,  bridges  or  public  places  in  any  city  shall  be 
granted,  renewed  or  extended  except  by  ordinance;  and 
every  ordinance  shall  be  published  in  said  city  before  being 
finally  passed  upon  and  must  receive  the  approval,  by  vote, 
of  one  or  more  than  a  majority  of  all  the  members  before 
being  finally  adopted. 

Section  8.  No  officer  or  employe  elected  or  appointed 
in  any  such  city  shall  be  interested,  directly  or  indirectly, 
in  any  contract  or  job  for  work  or  materials,  or  the  profits 
thereof,  or  services  to  be  furnished  or  performed  for  the 
city,  and  no  such  officer  or  employe  shall  be  interested, 
directly  or  indirectly,  in  any  contract  or  job  for  work  or 
materials,  or  the  profits  thereof,  or  services  to  be  furnished 
or  performed,  for  any  person,  firm  or  corporation,  operat¬ 
ing  interurban  railway,  street  railway,  gas  works,  water 


25 


works,  electric  light  or  power  plant,  heating  plant,  telegraph 
line,  telephone  exchange,  or  other  public  utility  within  the 
territorial  limits  of  said  city.  No  such  officers  or  employes 
shall  accept  or  receive,  directly  or  indirectly,  from  any 
person,  firm  or  corporation  operating  within  the  territorial 
limits  of  said  city,  any  interurban  railway,  street  railway, 
gas  works,  electric  light  or  power  plant,  heating  plant,  tele¬ 
graph  line,  telephone  exchange  or  other  business  using  or 
operating  under  a  public  franchise,  any  frank,  free  pass, 
free  tickets,  or  free  service,  or  accept  or  receive,  directly  or 
indirectly,  from  any  such  person,  firm  or  corporation,  any 
other  service  upon  terms  more  favorable  than  is  granted 
to  the  public  generally.  And  for  the  violation  of  these 
provisions  the  offender  shall  be  punished  as  now  provided, 
or  may  be  provided  hereafter  by  law  or  ordinance. 

Such  prohibition  of  free  transportation  shall  not  apply 
to  policemen  or  firemen  in  uniform,  nor  shall  any  free 
service  to  city  officials  heretofore  provided  by  any  franchise 
or  ordinance  be  affected  by  this  section. 

Section  9.  All  cities  adopting  the  provisions  of  this 
act  shall  be  and  are  hereby  vested  with  the  general  powers 
and  authority  to  enact  and  enforce  by  imposition  of  reason¬ 
able  fines  or  by  imprisonment  or  both,  all  ordinances  neces¬ 
sary  for  the  protection  of  life,  health  and  property;  to 
declare  and  prevent  and  summarily  to  abate  nuisances  to  pre¬ 
serve  and  enforce  the  good  government  and  general  welfare, 
order  and  security  of  such  city,  and  shall  have  all  powers 
necessary  for  its  government  not  in  conflict  with  the  laws 
applicable  to  all  cities  of  this  State  or  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution. 

All  ordinances  or  resolutions  heretofore  passed  in  any 
such  cities,  not  inconsistent  with  the  rights  and  powers 
herein  granted,  shall  remain  in  full  force  and  effect  until 
altered  or  repealed  by  the  commissioners  in  the  manner 
herein  provided. 


26 


Section  io.  All  officers  and  employes  in  any  such 
city  shall  be  elected  or  appointed  with  reference  to  their 
qualifications  and  fitness,  and  for  the  good  of  the  public 
service,  and  without  reference  to  their  political  faith  or 
party  affiliations.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  candidate 
for  office,  or  any  officer  in  any  such  city,  directly  or  indi¬ 
rectly,  to  give  or  promise  any  person  or  persons  any  offices, 
position,  employment,  benefit  or  anything  of  value  for  the 
purpose  of  influencing  or  obtaining  the  political  support, 
aid  or  vote  of  any  person  or  persons  under  the  penalty  of 
being  disqualified  to  hold  the  office  to  which  he  may  have 
been  elected  or  appointed. 

Every  elective  officer,  in  any  such  city,  shall,  within 
ten  days  after  qualifying,  file  with  the  county  councilman, 
and  publish  at  least  once  in  a  newspaper  printed  and  pub¬ 
lished  in  such  city,  and  if  no  newspaper  is  printed  or 
published  in  such  city,  then  in  a  newspaper  of  general 
circulation  in  such  city,  his  sworn  statement  of  all  his 
election  and  campaign  expenses,  and  by  whom  such  funds 
were  contributed.  Any  violation  of  the  provisions  of  this 
section  shall  be  a  misdemeanor  and  a  ground  for  removal 
from  office. 

Section  ii.  The  board  of  commissioners  shall,  each 
month,  publish  in  at  least  one  newspaper  in  such  city,  or 
print  in  pamphlet  form,  a  detailed  itemized  statement  of 
all  the  receipts  and  expenses  of  the  city  and  a  summary  of 
its  proceedings  during  the  preceding  month,  and  shall  file 
and  furnish  printed  copies  thereof  to  all  persons  who  shall 
apply  therefor  at  the  office  of  the  Mayor.  At  the  end  of 
each  year  the  board  of  commissioners  shall  cause  a  full 
and  complete  examination  of  all  the  books  and  accounts 
of  the  city  to  be  made  by  competent  accountants,  and  shall 
publish  the  result  of  this  examination  in  the  manner  above 
provided  for  the  publication  of  monthly  expenditures. 

Section  12.  If,  at  the  beginning  of  the  term  of  office 
of  the  first  board  of  commissioners  elected  in  such  city 


27 


under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the  appropriations  for  the 
expenditures  of  the  city  government  for  the  then  current 
fiscal  year  have  been  made,  the  said  board  of  commissioners 
shall  have  power,  by  ordinance,  to  revise,  repeal  or  change 
such  appropriations,  and  to  make  additional  appropriations. 

Section  13.  The  system  of  public  instruction  in  any 
city  adopting  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  in  no  way  be 
affected  by  this  act. 

Section  14.  In  every  such  city  there  shall  be  held  a 
primary  election  for  nomination  for  commissioners  to  be 
elected  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  the  first  primary 
election  for  such  nominations  shall  be  held  on  the  fourth 
Saturday  following  the  election  at  which  the  voters  shall 
have  voted  to  adopt  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  thereafter 
the  primary  election  for  such  nomination  shall  be  held  on 
the  second  Saturday  in  April  in  the  fourth  succeeding  year 
and  on  the  second  Saturday  in  April  in  the  fourth  year 
thereafter. 

The  election  officers  conducting  the  last  general  annual 
election  shall  be  the  officers  of  the  primary  election  as  well 
as  the  officers  of  the  general  municipal  election,  and  the 
primary  and  municipal  elections  shall  be  held  at  the  same 
places  and  conducted  in  the  same  manner,  so  far  as  possible, 
and  the  polls  shall  be  opened  and  closed  at  the  same  hours 
as  provided  by  the  general  primary  and  election  laws. 

The  names  of  candidates  for  commissioners  shall,  at 
least  ten  days  prior  to  the  primary  election,  be  filed  with 
the  county  commissioners  in  the  manner  and  form  and 
under  the  conditions  hereafter  set  forth  and  the  petition 
of  nominations  shall  consist  of  individual  certificates  equal 
in  number  to  at  least  one-half  of  one  per  centum  of  the 
entire  vote  at  the  last  preceding  general  election,  but  in  no 
event  less  than  twenty-five,  and  said  petition  shall  read 
substantially  as  follows: 


28 


I,  the  undersigned,  a  qualified  elector  of  the  city  of 

. ,  residing  at . ,  certify  that 

I  do  hereby  join  in  a  petition  for  the  nomination  of . 

. ,  whose  residence  is  at  . , 

for  the  office  of  commissioner,  to  be  voted  for  at  the 

primary  election  to  be  held  in  such  city  on  the . , 

19.  .,  and  I  further  certify  that  I  know  this  candidate  to  be 
a  qualified  elector  of  said  city  and  a  man  of  good  moral 
character,  and  qualified,  in  my  judgment,  for  the  duties 
of  such  office,  and  I  further  certify  that  I  have  not  signed 
more  petitions  or  certificates  of  nominations  than  there 
are  places  to  be  filled  in  the  above  office. 

(Signed)  . 

Being  duly  sworn,  deposes  and  says,  that  he  is  the 
person  that  signed  the  foregoing  certificate;  that  the  state¬ 
ments  contained  therein  are  true  and  correct. 

(Signed)  . 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  . 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  county  commissioners  to 
furnish,  upon  application,  a  reasonable  number  of  forms 
of  individual  certificates  of  the  above  character. 

Each  certificate  must  be  a  separate  paper  and  must 
contain  the  name  of  but  one  signer  thereto,  and  no  more, 
and  shall  contain  the  name  of  but  one  candidate,  and  no 
more.  Each  signer  must  not,  at  the  time  of  signing  the 
certificate,  have  signed  more  certificates  for  candidates  for 
that  office  than  there  are  places  to  be  filled  in  such  office, 
and  in  case  an  elector  has  signed  two  or  more  conflicting 
certificates,  all  such  certificates  shall  be  rejected. 

When  such  a  petition  of  nomination  is  presented  for 
file  to  the  county  commissioners,  they  shall  forthwith  exam¬ 
ine  the  same  and  ascertain  whether  it  conforms  to  the 
provisions  of  this  section,  and  if  not  found  in  conformity 
thereto,  they  shall  designate  the  defect  and  return  the 
petition  to  the  person  signing  it,  which  may  again  be 
presented  when  properly  amended. 


29 


Immediately  upon  the  expiration  of  the  time  of  filing 
certificates,  statements  and  petitions  for  candidates,  the 
county  commissioners  shall  cause  to  be  published  for  three 
successive  days  in  all  the  daily  newspapers  published  in 
such  city,  in  proper  form,  the  names  of  the  persons  as  they 
are  to  appear  upon  the  primary  ballots,  and  if  there  be  no 
daily  newspapers,  then  in  two  issues  of  any  other  news¬ 
papers  that  may  be  published  in  said  city;  and  the  county 
commissioners  shall  thereupon  cause  the  primary  ballots 
to  be  printed,  authenticated  with  a  facsimile  of  their  signa¬ 
ture.  Upon  the  said  ballot,  arranged  in  alphabetical  order, 
shall  appear  the  names  of  the  candidates  for  commissioners 
with  a  square  at  the  left  of  each  name,  and  below  the  names 
of  such  candidates  in  cities  of  one  million  population  or 
over  shall  appear  the  words  “Vote  for  seven,”  and  in  cities 
of  less  than  one  million  population  shall  appear  the  words 
“Vote  for  five,”  and  in  cities  of  less  than  one  hundred 
thousand  population,  shall  appear  the  words  “Vote  for 
three.”  The  ballots  shall  be  printed  upon  plain,  substantial 
white  paper,  and  shall  be  headed : 

Candidate  for  Nomination  for  Commissioners  of  City 
at  the  primary  election,  but  shall  have  no  party  designation 
indicative  of  the  source  of  the  candidacy  or  of  the  support 
of  any  candidate  or  mark  whatever.  Place  a  cross  in  the 
square  preceding  the  names  of  the  persons  you  favor  as 
candidates  for  the  respective  positions. 

Having  caused  said  ballot  to  be  printed,  the  county 
commissioners  shall  cause  to  be  delivered  at  each  polling 
place  a  number  of  said  ballots  equal  to  twice  the  number 
of  votes  cast  in  such  polling  precinct  at  the  last  general 
election.  The  persons  who  are  qualified  to  vote  at  the 
general  municipal  election  shall  be  qualified  to  vote  at  such 
primary  election,  and  challenges  can  be  made  by  not  more 
than  two  persons,  to  be  appointed  at  the  time  of  opening 
the  polls  by  the  judges  of  election;  and  the  law  applicable 
to  challenges  made  at  a  general  or  municipal  election  shall 
be  applicable  to  challenges  at  such  primary  election.  Judges 


30 


of  election  shall,  immediately  upon  the  closing  of  the  polls, 
count  the  ballots  and  ascertain  the  number  of  votes  cast  in 
such  precinct  for  each  of  the  candidates,  and  make  return 
thereof  to  the  county  commissioners  upon  proper  blanks, 
to  be  furnished  by  the  county  commissioners  within  six 
hours  of  the  closing  of  the  polls.  On  the  day  following  the 
said  primary  election  the  county  commissioners  shall  can¬ 
vass  said  returns  so  received  from  all  the  polling  precincts, 
and  shall  immediately  make  and  file  in  the  office  of  the 
county  commissioners  the  result  thereof.  Said  canvass  of 
the  county  commissioners  shall  be  publicly  made. 

Section  15.  And  in  every  city  of  one  million  popu¬ 
lation  or  more,  seven  commissioners,  and  in  cities  of  less 
than  one  million  population,  five  commissioners,  and  in 
cities  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  population,  three  com¬ 
missioners  shall  be  elected,  at  an  election  to  be  held  on 
the  fourth  Tuesday  following  the  primary  election,  follow¬ 
ing  the  election  at  which  the  voters  shall  have  voted  to 
adopt  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  on  the  second  Tuesday 
in  April  in  each  fourth  year  thereafter.  The  number  of 
candidates  equal  to  twice  the  number  of  places  to  be  filled, 
receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  at  the  primary  elec¬ 
tion,  shall  be  the  candidates,  and  the  only  candidates  whose 
names  shall  be  placed  upon  the  ballot  at  the  succeeding 
municipal  election,  and  the  number  of  candidates  equal  to 
twice  the  number  of  places  to  be  filled,  receiving  the  highest 
number  of  votes  for  commissioners,  or  all  such  candidates, 
if  less  than  twice  the  number  of  places  to  be  filled  shall  be 
the  candidates,  and  the  only  candidates,  whose  names  shall 
be  placed  upon  the  ballot  for  commissioners  at  such  munici¬ 
pal  election,  and  the  ballot  at  such  municipal  election  shall 
be  in  the  same  general  form  as  for  said  primary  election, 
so  far  as  possible,  and  at  all  elections  in  such  city  the 
election  precincts,  voting  places,  methods  of  conducting 
election,  canvassing  the  votes  and  announcing  the  results, 
shall  be  the  same  as  herein  provided  for  the  selection  of 


31 


candidates  at  the  primary  election,  and  the  number  of 
candidates  equal  to  the  number  of  places  to  be  filled  receiv¬ 
ing  the  highest  number  of  votes  shall  be  elected  as  commis¬ 
sioners  as  herein  provided. 

RECALL. 

Section  16.  The  holder  of  any  elective  office  may 
be  removed  at  any  time  by  the  electors  qualified  to  vote 
for  a  successor  of  such  incumbent.  The  procedure  to 
affect  the  removal  of  an  incumbent  of  an  elective  office 
shall  be  as  follows :  A  petition  signed  by  the  electors 
entitled  to  vote  for  a  successor  to  the  incumbent  sought  to 
be  removed,  equal  in  number  to  at  least  twenty-five  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  vote  at  the  last  preceding  general  election 
demanding  an  election  of  a  successor  of  the  person  sought 
to  be  removed,  shall  be  filed  with  the  county  commissioners 
which  petition  shall  contain  a  general  statement  of  the 
grounds  for  which  the  removal  is  sought. 

The  signatures  to  the  petition  need  not  all  be  appended 
to  one  paper,  but  each  signer  shall  add  to  his  signature  his 
place  of  residence,  giving  the  street  and  number.  One  of 
the  signers  of  each  such  paper  shall  make  an  oath  before 
an  officer  competent  to  administer  oaths  that  the  statement 
therein  made  is  true  as  he  believes,  and  that  each  signature 
to  the  paper  appended  is  the  genuine  signature  of  the  person 
whose  name  it  purports  to  be.  Within  ten  days  from  the 
date  of  filing  such  petition  the  county  commissioner  shall 
examine,  ascertain  whether  or  not  said  petition  is  signed 
by  the  requisite  number  of  qualified  electors,  and  he  shall 
attach  to  said  petition  his  certificate,  showing  the  result  of 
said  examination.  If,  by  the  county  commissioner’s  cer¬ 
tificate,  the  petition  is  shown  to  be  insufficient,  it  may  be 
amended  within  ten  days  from  the  date  of  said  certificate. 

The  county  commissioner  shall,  within  ten  days  after 
such  amendment,  make  like  examination  of  the  amended 
petition,  and  if  this  certificate  shall  show  the  same  to  be 
insufficient,  it  shall  be  returned  to  the  person  filing  the 


32 


same,  without  prejudice  to  the  filing  of  a  new  petition  to 
the  same  effect.  If  the  petition  shall  be  deemed  to  be 
sufficient,  the  county  commissioner  shall  submit  the  same 
to  the  board  of  commissioners  without  delay. 

If  the  petition  shall  be  found  to  be  sufficient  the  board 
of  commissioners  shall,  if  the  officer  sought  to  be  removed 
shall  not  resign  within  five  days  after  the  date  on  the 
county  commissioner’s  certificate,  order  and  fix  a  date  for 
holding  the  said  election,  not  less  than  thirty  days  or  more 
than  forty  days  from  the  date  on  the  county  commissioner’s 
certificate  to  the  board  of  commissioners  that  a  sufficient 
petition  is  filed. 

The  board  of  commissioners  shall  make,  or  cause  to 
be  made,  publication  of  notice  and  all  arrangements  for 
holding  such  election,  and  the  same  shall  be  conducted, 
returned  and  the  result  thereof  declared  in  all  respects  as 
are  other  city  elections.  The  successor  of  any  officer  so 
removed  shall  hold  office  during  the  unexpired  term  of  his 
predecessor.  Any  person  sought  to  be  removed  may  be  a 
candidate  to  succeed  himself,  and  unless  he  requests  other¬ 
wise  in  writing,  the  county  commissioner  shall  place  his 
name  on  the  official  ballot  without  nomination.  In  any 
such  removal  election,  the  candidate  receiving  the  highest 
number  of  votes  shall  be  declared  elected.  At  such  election, 
if  some  other  person  than  the  incumbent  receives  the  highest 
number  of  votes,  the  incumbent  shall  thereupon  be  deemed 
removed  from  the  office  upon  the  qualification  of  his  suc¬ 
cessor.  In  case  the  person  who  receives  the  highest  number 
of  votes  should  fail  to  qualify  within  ten  days  after  receiv¬ 
ing  notification  of  election,  the  office  shall  be  deemed  vacant. 
If  the  incumbent  receives  the  highest  number  of  votes,  he 
shall  continue  in  office.  The  same  method  of  removal  shall 
be  cumulative  and  additional  to  the  methods  heretofore 
provided  by  law.  No  person  who  has  been  recalled  from 
an  elective  office,  or  who  has  resigned  from  such  office 
while  recall  proceedings  were  pending  against  him  shall  be 
appointed  to  any  office  within  one  year  after  such  recall  or 
resignation. 


33 


No  recall  petition  shall  be  filed  against  any  officer  until 
he  has  actually  held  his  office  for  at  least  twelve  months, 
and  but  one  recall  petition  shall  be  filed  against  the  same 
officer  during  his  term  of  office. 

INITIATIVE. 

Section  17.  Any  proposed  ordinance  may  be  sub¬ 
mitted  to  the  board  of  commissioners  by  petition  signed  by 
electors  of  the  city  equal  in  number  to  the  percentage  herein¬ 
after  required.  The  signatures,  verification,  authentication, 
inspection,  certification,  amendment  and  submission  of  such 
petition  shall  be  the  same  as  provided  for  petitions  under 
the  last  section. 

If  the  petition  accompanying  the  proposed  ordinance 
be  signed  by  electors  equal  in  number  to  fifteen  per  centum 
of  the  votes  cast  at  the  last  preceding  general  election,  and 
contains  a  request  that  the  said  ordinance  be  submitted  to 
a  vote  of  the  people  if  not  passed  by  the  board  of  commis¬ 
sioners,  such  board  of  commissioners  shall  either : 

(a) .  Pass  said  ordinance  without  alteration  within 
twenty  days  after  attachment  of  the  county  commissioner’s 
certificate  to  the  accompanying  petition,  or, 

(b) .  Forthwith,  after  the  county  commissioner  shall 
attach  to  the  petition  accompanying  such  ordinance,  his 
certificate  of  sufficiency,  the  board  of  commissioners  shall 
call  a  special  election,  unless  a  general  municipal  election 
is  fixed  within  ninety  days  thereafter,  and  at  such  special 
or  general  municipal  election,  if  one  is  so  fixed,  such  ordi¬ 
nance  shall  be  submitted  without  alteration  to  the  vote  of 
the  electors  of  the  city. 

But  if  the  petition  is  signed  by  not  less  than  ten  nor 
more  than  fifteen  per  centum  of  the  electors,  as  above 
defined,  then  the  board  of  commissioners  shall,  within 
twenty  days,  pass  said  ordinance  without  change,  or  submit 
the  same  at  the  next  general  city  election  occurring  not 
more  than  thirty  days  after  the  county  commissioner’s 
certificate  of  sufficiency  is  attached  to  said  petition. 


34 


The  ballots  used  when  voting  upon  said  ordinance  shall 
contain  these  words:  “For  the  ordinance”  (stating  the 
nature  of  the  proposed  ordinance)  and  “Against  the  ordi¬ 
nance”  (stating  the  nature  of  the  proposed  ordinance). 
If  a  majority  of  the  qualified  electors  voting  on  the  pro¬ 
posed  ordinance  shall  vote  in  favor  thereof,  such  ordinance 
shall  thereupon  become  a  valid  and  binding  ordinance  of 
the  city;  and  any  ordinance  proposed  by  petition,  or  which 
shall  be  adopted  by  a  vote  of  the  people,  cannot  be  repealed 
or  amended  except  by  a  vote  of  the  people. 

Any  number  of  proposed  ordinances  may  be  voted 
upon  at  the  same  election  in  accordance  with  the  pro¬ 
visions  of  this  section,  but  there  shall  not  be  more  than 
one  special  election  in  any  period  of  six  months  for  such 
purpose. 

The  board  of  commissioners  may  submit  a  proposi¬ 
tion  for  the  repeal  of  any  such  ordinance  or  for  amend¬ 
ment  thereto,  to  be  voted  upon  at  any  succeeding  general 
city  election,  and  should  such  proposition  so  submitted 
receive  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  thereon  at  such  election, 
such  ordinances  shall  thereby  be  repealed  or  amended  accord¬ 
ingly.  Whenever  any  ordinance  or  proposition  is  required 
by  this  act  to  be  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the  city  at  any 
election,  the  county  commissioner  shall  cause  such  ordi¬ 
nance  or  proposition  to  be  published  once  in  at  least  one 
of  the  newspapers  published  in  said  city;  such  publication 
to  be  not  more  than  twenty  nor  less  than  five  days  before 
the  submission  of  such  proposition  or  ordinance  to  be 
voted  on. 


REFERENDUM. 

Section  18.  No  ordinance  passed  by  the  board  of 
commissioners  except  when  otherwise  required  by  the  gen¬ 
eral  laws  of  the  State  or  by  the  provisions  of  this  act, 
except  an  ordinance  for  the  immediate  preservation  of 
the  public  peace,  health  or  safety,  which  contains  a  state¬ 
ment  of  its  urgency  and  is  passed  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of 


35 


the  board  of  commissioners,  shall  go  into  effect  before  ten 
days  from  the  time  of  its  final  passage;  and  if  during  said 
ten  days,  a  petition  signed  by  electors  of  the  city  equal  in 
number  to  at  least  fifteen  per  centum  of  the  entire  vote 
cast  at  the  last  preceding  general  municipal  election,  pro¬ 
testing  against  the  passage  of  such  ordinance,  be  presented 
to  the  board  of  commissioners,  the  same  shall  thereupon 
be  suspended  from  going  into  operation,  and  it  shall  be 
the  duty  of  the  board  of  commissioners  to  reconsider  such 
ordinance;  and  if  the  same  is  not  entirely  repealed,  the 
board  of  commissioners  shall  submit  the  ordinance,  as  is 
provided  by  sub-section  B  of  section  seventeen  of  this  act, 
to  the  vote  of  the  electors  of  the  city,  either  at  the  general 
election  or  at  a  special  municipal  election  to  be  called  for 
that  purpose;  and  such  ordinance  shall  not  go  into  effect 
or  become  operative  unless  a  majority  of  the  qualified 
electors  voting  on  the  same  shall  vote  in  favor  thereof. 
Said  petition  shall  be  in  all  respects  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  said  section  seventeen,  except  as  to  the  per¬ 
centage  of  signers,  and  be  examined  and  certified  to  by  the 
county  commissioner  in  all  respects  as  therein  provided. 
Any  ordinance  or  measure  that  the  board  of  commissioners 
or  the  qualified  electors  of  the  city  shall  have  authority  to 
enact,  the  board  of  commissioners  may  of  its  own  motion 
submit  to  the  electors  for  adoption  or  rejection  at  a  general 
or  special  municipal  election,  in  the  same  manner  and  with 
the  same  force  and  effect  as  is  provided  in  this  act  for 
ordinances  or  measures  submitted  on  petition.  At  any 
special  election  called  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  there 
shall  be  no  bar  to  the  submission  of  other  questions  to  a 
vote  of  the  electors  in  addition  to  the  ordinances  or  measures 
herein  provided  for,  if  said  other  questions  are  such  as  may 
legally  be  submitted  to  such  election.  If  the  provisions 
of  two  or  more  measures  approved  at  the  same  election 
conflict,  then  the  measure  receiving  the  highest  affirmative 
vote  shall  control. 


36 


ADOPTION  REQUIREMENTS. 

Section  19.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately, 
but  its  provision  shall  remain  inoperative  in  any  city  of 
this  State  until  assented  to  by  a  majority  of  the  legal  voters 
thereof  voting  at  an  election  to  be  held  in  such  city,  which 
election  shall  be  called  by  the  county  commissioner  upon 
the  request  or  petition  in  writing  of  twenty  per  centum  of 
the  legal  voters  voting  at  the  last  general  election.  Upon  such 
petition  or  request  in  writing  being  filed  with  the  county 
commissioner,  the  said  county  commissioner  shall  forthwith 
call  an  election  to  be  held  on  the  third  Tuesday  following 
the  date  of  the  filing  of  such  petition  with  him,  and  shall 
cause  public  notice  of  the  time  and  place  of  holding  the 
same  to  be  given  by  advertisement  signed  by  himself  and 
set  up  in  at  least  twenty  different  places  in  such  cities  and 
published  in  at  least  one  newspaper  printed  and  published 
in  such  city,  and  if  no  newspaper  is  printed  or  published 
in  such  city,  then  in  a  newspaper  circulated  therein,  for 
at  least  six  days  previous  to  the  time  of  such  election;  and 
said  county  commissioner  shall  provide  ballots  for  each 
voter  at  such  election,  to  be  printed  upon  plain,  substantial 
white  paper,  which  shall  contain  these  words : 

“For  the  adoption  or  the  rejection  of  the  city  of  (here 
name  of  city)  of  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  one  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  eleven,  entitled,  ‘An  act  relating  to,  reg¬ 
ulating  and  providing  for  the  government  of  cities,  towns, 
boroughs  and  other  municipalities  within  this  State/  ” 
Upon  said  ballots  shall  appear  the  phrase  “For  the  adop¬ 
tion,”  and  the  phrase  “Against  the  adoption,”  with  a  square 
at  the  left  of  each  phrase,  and  below  shall  appear  the 
words  “Vote  for  or  against” ;  “Place  a  cross  in  one  square.” 

Such  election  shall  be  held  at  the  usual  places  of  hold¬ 
ing  the  annual  election  in  such  city.  The  polls  shall  remain 
open  during  the  usual  hours,  and  every  such  election  shall 
be  conducted  by  the  same  election  officers  for  the  time  being 
in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law  regulating  elections,  and 


37 


such  officers  shall  report  to  the  county  commission  of  such 
city  a  true  and  correct  statement  in  writing  under  their 
hands  of  the  results  of  such  election,  and  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  county  commissioner  to  certify  and  report  the 
same  to  the  city  council,  or  other  legislative  body,  of  such 
city  or  municipality,  at  its  first  meeting  thereafter,  and 
the  same  shall  be  entered  at  large  in  the  minutes  of  said 
body.  Whereupon,  if  it  is  found  that  the  majority  of  the 
votes  cast  are  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  this  act,  this  act 
shall  in  all  respects  become  and  be  operative  in  such  city, 
and  binding  upon  the  inhabitants  thereof  and  upon  all  per¬ 
sons  and  property  to  be  affected  thereby;  provided,  how¬ 
ever,  that  the  votes  cast  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  this 
act  is  equal  to  at  least  thirty  per  centum  of  the  votes  cast 
for  members  of  the  General  Assembly  at  the  last  general 
election  immediately  preceding  the  submission  of  this  act 
as  aforesaid;  and,  immediately  after  the  election  and  organi¬ 
zation  of  the  board  of  commissioners  provided  herein,  it 
shall  abrogate,  repeal  and  annuli  all  acts  or  parts  of  acts 
then  existing,  whether  general  or  special,  in  anywise  affect¬ 
ing  the  government  of  such  cities  which  are  contrary  to  or 
inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

If  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  are  not  in  favor  of  the 
adoption  of  this  act,  then  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall 
remain  inoperative  and  no  further  proceedings  shall  be 
taken  until  after  the  beginning  of  the  last  year  of  the  term 
of  the  Mayor,  or  equivalent  officer,  elected  at  the  election 
following  the  rejection  of  this  act,  after  which  date,  upon 
the  presentation  of  another  petition  or  request,  as  provided 
for  herein,  the  same  procedure  shall  be  had  and  the  question 
of  the  adoption  or  rejection  of  the  provisions  of  this  act 
again  submitted  in  the  manner  herein  set  forth,  and  with 
the  same  force  and  effect. 

REVERSION  TO  THE  CHARTER. 

Section  20.  Any  city  which  shall  have  operated  for 
more  than  six  years  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  may 


38 


abandon  such  organization  hereunder  and  may  resume  its 
charter  by  proceeding  as  follows: 

Upon  the  petition  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  per 
centum  of  the  electors  of  such  city,  a  special  election  shall 
be  called  at  which  the  following  proposition  shall  be  sub¬ 
mitted:  “Shall  the  city  of  (name  of  city)  abandon  its 
organization  under  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  one  thou¬ 
sand  nine  hundred  and  eleven,  entitled,  ‘An  act  relating 
to,  regulating  and  providing  for  the  government  of  cities 
within  this  State,’  and  resume  or  adopt  a  charter  under 
another  act  ?” 

If  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  at  such  special  election 
be  in  favor  of  such  proposition,  the  officers  elected  at  the 
next  succeeding  regular  municipal  election  shall  be  those 
prescribed  by  the  charter,  and  upon  the  qualification  of 
such  officers  such  city  shall  become  a  city  under  the  charter, 
but  such  change  shall  not  in  any  manner  or  degree  effect 
the  property,  right  or  liability  of  any  nature  of  such  city, 
but  shall  merely  extend  to  such  change  in  its  form  of 
government. 

Section  21.  If  any  proviso,  clause  or  section  of  this 
act  shall  be  attacked  in  any  court  and  shall  be  declared 
invalid  or  unconstitutional,  the  rest  of  this  act  shall  stand, 
and  the  proviso,  clause  or  section  declared  invalid  or  uncon¬ 
stitutional  shall  be  exscinded  from  this  act. 


39 


PRESIDENTIAL  PREFERENCE  PRIMARY  ACT. 


Section  i. 

Section  2. 

Section  3. 

Section  4. 

Section  5. 

Section  6. 
Section  7. 

Section  8. 

Section  9. 

Section  10. 
Section  11. 
Section  12. 


Table  of  Contents. 

Date  and  purposes  of  presidential  primary  election. 

(1)  Expression  of  presidential  preference. 

(2)  Election  of  delegates  to  national  conventions. 

The  election  on  presidential  preference. 

(1)  Method  of  securing  nomination  papers. 

(2)  Provision  for  withdrawal  of  name  from  ballot. 

(3)  Position  and  order  of  candidates’  names  on  ballot 

Delegates  to  national  party  conventions. 

(1)  Notification  of  number  to  be  elected. 

(2)  All  delegates  to  be  elected  at  large. 

(3)  Certification  of  number  by  secretary  of  state. 

Manner  of  nominating  and  electing  delegates. 

(1)  The  securing  of  nomination  papers. 

(2)  Conditions  for  nomination  as  a  group. 

(a)  The  same  presidential  preference. 

(b)  The  representation  of  all  districts  of  the 
state. 

(3)  Conditions  for  election  as  a  group. 

(a)  Endorsement  by  candidate  or  campaign  com¬ 
mittee. 

(b)  Limitation  of  candidate’s  name  to  a  single 
group. 

(4)  Statement  of  presidential  preference. 

Arrangement  of  candidates’  names  on  ballot. 

(1)  Position  under  name  of  presidential  candidate  pre¬ 
ferred. 

(2)  No  preference  column. 

(3)  Blank  column. 

(4)  Provision  for  order  of  names. 

(5)  Voting  square  within  which  to  vote  for  entire  group. 

Delegate’s  statement  regarding  support  of  party's 
preference. 

The  appointment  of  alternates  to  convention. 

(1)  Number  to  be  selected  and  restrictions  on  selection. 

(2)  Duties  of  alternate. 

Registration  required  for  April  primary  election. 

(1)  Names  on  old  register. 

(2)  Names  added  since  previous  election. 

(3)  Statement  of  party  affiliation  necessary. 

(4)  Qualifications  for  signing  nomination  papers. 

Form  of  ballot  for  April  primary  election. 

(1)  Sections  of  primary  laws  governing  ballot. 

(2)  Heading  of  ballot. 

(3)  Sample  form  of  ballot. 

Cross  reference  to  direct  primary  law. 

Short  name  of  act. 

Repeal  of  acts  inconsistent  with  this  act. 


PRESIDENTIAL  PREFERENCES 
PRIMARY 

AN  ACT 

To  provide  for  the  expression  by  the  qualified  electors  of  the  several 
political  parties  of  their  choice  for  nomination  by  their  party  for 
President  of_  the  United  States  and  to  provide  for  the  election  of 
the  delegates  of  said  political  parties  to  their  respective  National 
conventions,  and  to  call  an  election  in  conformity  with  the  pro¬ 
visions  of  this  act. 

Section  i.  Be  it  enacted ,  etc.,  That  on  the  second 
Saturday  of  April,  1916,  and  of  every  fourth  year  there¬ 
after,  there  shall  be  held  a  primary  nominating  election  to 
be  known  as  the  April  presidential  primary  election,  at 
which  the  qualified  electors  of  the  several  political  parties 
shall  have  opportunity,  on  separate  party  ballots  provided 
for  that  purpose,  to  express  their  preference  as  to  the  nomi¬ 
nees  of  their  respective  parties  for  president  of  the  United 
States,  and  also  to  elect  the  delegates  of  their  respective 
parties  to  their  respective  National  conventions  for  the 
nomination,  of  their  party  candidates  for  president  and 
vice-president  of  the  United  States. 

Section  2.  The  names  of  the  candidates  for  nomina¬ 
tion  as  president  of  the  United  States  shall  be  printed  upon 
the  ballots,  upon  the  filing  of  nomination  papers  substan¬ 
tially  as  provided  in  an  act  providing  a  uniform  method  of 
electing  certain  party  officers,  etc.,  approved  1906  and  here¬ 
inafter  referred  to  in  this  act  as  the  “uniform  primary 
act” ;  provided  that  nomination  papers  for  each  of  the  said 
candidates  must  be  signed  by  not  less  than  one  per  centum 
of  the  voters  of  his  party  in  each  congressional  district  of 
the  State;  and  further  provided,  that  no  candidate  for 
nomination  for  president  need  sign  or  file  any  petition, 

40 


41 


affidavit,  declaration,  statement  or  paper  of  any  kind  to  get 
his  name  upon  the  ballot,  but  that  in  the  event  that  any 
person  who  is  presented  as  a  candidate  for  nomination  for 
president  by  filing  of  nomination  papers  as  herein  provided 
for,  shall,  on  or  before  the  thirty-fifth  day  before  the  date 
of  the  presidential  primary  election,  announce  by  an  affi¬ 
davit,  declaration,  or  statement  filed  in  the  office  of  the 
secretary  of  the  commonwealth,  that  he  is  not  a  candidate 
for  nomination  for  president,  and  that  he  does  not  wish  his 
name  to  be  printed  upon  the  ballot  for  said  election,  the 
said  secretary  of  the  commonwealth  shall  not  certify  or 
transmit  the  name  of  such  candidate  to  the  respective  county 
commissioner,  and  such  name  shall  not  be  printed  upon  the 
ballots.  The  names  of  the  several  candidates  for  nomina¬ 
tion  for  president  together  with  the  blank  space  for  writing 
the  name  of  such  a  candidate,  and  the  headings  for  the  same 
shall  appear  at  the  top  and  center  of  the  ballot  immediately 
below  the  instructions  to  voters,  and  shall  be  printed  in 
heavy  face  eight  point,  capital  type.  The  order  in  which 
the  names  of  the  candidates  for  presidential  nominees  shall 
be  printed  upon  the  ballot,  shall  be  the  .  order  in  which  the 
nomination  papers  of  such  candidates  are  filed  with  the 
secretary  of  the  commonwealth;  and  such  names  shall  be 
printed  one  after  the  other  in  a  horizontal  line,  each  name 
being  followed  by  a  voting  square,  the  space  for  the  name 
and  voting  square  together  being  headed  by  the  words  “For 
Presidential  Nominee,”  printed  in  heavy  face  ten  point 
gothic  type,  and  occupying  no  less  than  two  and  a  half  inches 
of  horizontal  space.  This  space  shall  be  left  blank  above 
the  “No  Preference  Column”  provided  for  in  section  5  of 
this  act.  Below  the  words  “For  Presidential  Nominee” 
heading  the  blank  space  hereinbefore  provided  for,  shall  be 
the  words  “Blank  Space”  in  six  point  gothic  type.  Above 
the  words  and  spaces  herein  described  shall  be  printed  in 
heavy  face  twelve  point  gothic  type  the  word  “vote  for  One 
as  Your  Choice  for  Presidential  Nominee.” 


42 


Section  3.  The  chairman  of  the  State  Central  Com¬ 
mittee  of  each  of  the  political  parties  qualified  to  participate 
in  the  election  provided  for  in  this  act  shall  notify  the  sec¬ 
retary  of  the  commonwealth  on  or  before  the  ’first  day  of 
March  of  each  bissextile  or  leap  year  as  to  the  number  of 
delegates  to  represent  the  State  in  the  next  National  conven¬ 
tion  of  his  said  party.  If  the  State  chairman,  or  any  of 
them,  fail  to  file  such  notice,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
secretary  of  the  commonwealth  to  ascertain  the  said  number 
of  delegates  from  the  call  for  said  National  convention 
issued  by  the  National  Committee  of  each  party  whose 
chairman  has  failed  to  notify  him  as  aforesaid.  The  dele¬ 
gates  who  shall  represent  each  political  party  at  its  National 
convention  shall  all  be  elected  by  the  voters  of  the  State  at 
large.  The  secretary  of  the  commonwealth  shall,  on  or 
before  the  tenth  day  of  March  of  the  year  of  the  April 
presidential  primary  election,  certify  to  the  county  com¬ 
missioner  of  each  county,  or  city  and  county,  the  number  of 
delegates  to  be  so  elected  by  each  of  the  political  parties 
qualified  to  participate  in  the  said  election.  Any  political 
party  shall  be  qualified  to  participate  in  the  April  presiden¬ 
tial  primary  election  which  is  qualified  to  participate  in  the 
September  primary  election  according  to  the  provisions  of 
the  “direct  primary  law.” 

Section  4.  The  names  of  persons  to  be  voted  upon 
as  delegates  to  the  respective  National  conventions  of  the 
several  political  parties  shall  be  printed  upon  the  ballots 
of  their  respective  parties  upon  the  filing  of  nomination 
papers  substantially  in  the  form  provided  in  uniform  pri¬ 
mary  act;  provided,  that  in  the  case  of  each  party,  nomina¬ 
tion  papers  for  candidates  for  delegates  must  be  signed  by 
not  less  than  one  per  centum  of  the  voters  of  said  party  in 
each  congressional  district  of  the  State;  and  provided,  also, 
that  when  the  number  of  names  of  candidates  printed  upon 
the  same  nomination  paper  exceeds  the  number  of  congres¬ 
sional  districts  in  the  State,  but  is  less  than  twice  the  number 


43 


of  such  districts,  the  names  of  such  candidates,  thus  grouped 
together  shall  be  so  selected  that  not  more  than  three  and  not 
less  than  one  of  such  candidates  shall  reside  in  any  one 
congressional  district,  and  that  when  the  number  of  names 
of  candidates  printed  upon  the  same  nomination  paper 
exceeds  twice  the  number  of  congressional  districts  in  the 
State,  the  names  of  such  candidates  thus  grouped  together 
shall  be  so  selected  that  not  more  than  four  and  not  less 
than  two  of  such  candidates  shall  reside  in  any  one  con¬ 
gressional  district;  and  if  not  so  selected  said  names  shall 
not  be  grouped  together  on  the  ballot,  but  shall  appear  as 
individuals. 

Candidates  for  delegate  grouped  together  on  the  same 
nomination  paper  and  selected  as  aforesaid  shall  be  similarly 
grouped,  in  the  same  order  of  names,  upon  the  ballots  of 
their  party;  provided,  that  such  group  of  candidates  for 
delegate  has  the  endorsement  of  that  candidate  for  presiden¬ 
tial  nominee  for  whom  the  members  of  said  group  have  filed 
a  preference,  or  the  endorsement  of  such  a  State  political 
organization  created  in  support  of  the  candidacy  of  said 
presidential  nominee  as  shall  not  be  repudiated  by  him  as 
lacking  authority  to  make  such  endorsement;  said  endorse¬ 
ment,  either  of  the  candidate  or  the  organization  supporting 
him,  to  be  filed  with  the  secretary  of  the  commonwealth. 
No  candidates  for  delegates  thus  endorsed  shall  have  their 
names  printed  upon  the  ballot  in  a  group,  but  such  candi¬ 
dates  must  appear  as  individuals ;  and  further  provided,  that 
the  name  of  no  candidate  shall  appear  more  than  once  on 
the  ballot,  and  that  any  candidate  whose  nomination  paper 
is  filed  in  more  than  one  group,  or  in  the  same  group  dif¬ 
ferently  arranged,  shall  have  his  name  printed  on  the  ballot 
as  a  part  of  the  group  which  has  received  the  endorsement 
as  herein  recited ;  provided,  that  one  of  the  groups  in  which 
his  name  occurs  has  received  such  endorsement. 

Each  candidate  for  election  as  delegate  to  his  National 
party  convention  must  file  with  the  secretary  of  the  com¬ 
monwealth  not  later  than  the  time  of  filing  of  nomination 


44 


papers  containing  his  name,  an  affidavit  substantially  as 
provided  in  the  “uniform  primary  act,”  and  may  also 
include  with  his  affidavit  the  statement  “I  personally  prefer 

-  as  nominee  of  my  party  for  president  of 

the  United  States”  (filling  in  the  blank  by  inserting  his 
choice  for  such  nominee).  But  his  failure  to  include  such 
statement  shall  not  be  a  valid  ground  on  the  part  of  the  sec¬ 
retary  of  the  commonwealth  for  refusal  to  receive  and  file 
the  nomination  papers  containing  his  name. 

Section  5.  The  names  of  the  candidates  for  delegate 
in  any  political  party  shall  be  arranged  upon  the  ballots  of 
such  party  in  parallel  columns  each  column  standing  directly 
underneath  the  space  headed  by  the  words,  “For  Presiden¬ 
tial  Nominee,”  and  the  various  candidates  for  delegate 
appearing  in  these  columns  as  determined  by  their  prefer¬ 
ence  for  president,  according  to  the  provisions  of  section  4 
of  this  act.  The  left-hand  column  shall  be  headed  in  heavy 

face  ten  point  gothic  type,  “Candidate  Preferring - ” 

(the  blank  being  filled  out  by  the  surname  of  the  first  can¬ 
didate  for  presidential  nominee  on  the  ballot,  as  determined 
by  section  2  of  this  act).  The  second  column  shall  be 
similarly  headed,  except  that  the  surname  of  the  candidate 
for  presidential  nominee  shall  be  for  the  name  second  in  the 
list  of  candidates  for  presidential  nominee,  and  so  on  for  as 
many  candidates  for  presidential  nominee  as  are  printed  at 
the  top  of  the  ballot  in  the  list  of  such  candidates.  To  the 
right  of  the  last  column  headed  by  the  surname  of  a  candi¬ 
date  for  presidential  nominee  shall  be  a  column  headed  “No 
Preference  Column,”  in  which  shall  appear  the  names  of 
all  candidates  for  delegate  who  have  expressed  no  preference 
for  presidential  nominee  or  who  have  expressed  a  preference 
for  a  candidate  for  presidential  nominee  other  than  the  can¬ 
didates  for  presidential  nominee  printed  at  the  top  of  the 
ballot.  Above  this  “No  Preference  Column,”  neither  the 
words  “For  Presidential  Nominee”  nor  the  space  for  the 
name  of  such  nominee  shall  appear.  To  the  right  of  this  last 


45 


column  shall  be  a  column  headed  “Blank  Column/’  which 
shall  contain  as  many  blank  spaces  as  there  are  delegates  to 
be  elected  by  the  political  party  concerned.  In  case  there 
are  no  names  of  candidates  for  delegate  to  be  placed  in  a 
“No  Preference  Column,”  such  “No  Preference  Column” 
shall  be  omitted  from  the  ballot,  and  the  “Blank  Column” 
as  herein  provided  for  shall  be  placed  to  the  right  of  and 
contiguous  to  the  last  column  headed  by  the  surname  of  a 
candidate  for  presidential  nominee.  In  the  event  that  two 
or  more  candidates  for  Presidential  nominee  whose  names 
are  printed  upon  the  same  ballot  have  the  same  surname, 
the  distinguishing  names  or  initials  of  such  candidates  shall 
be  prefixed  to  their  respective  surnames  on  said  ballot,  fol¬ 
lowing  the  words  “Candidates  Preferring.” 

The  names  of  the  various  candidates  for  delegates  shall 
be  printed  in  eight  point  roman  capital  type,  under  their 
respective  preferences  for  presidential  nominee  or  in  the 
no  preference  column,  as  heretofore  provided  in  this  act. 
The  names  of  each  group  on  the  ballot  shall  be  numbered 
in  heavy  face  eight  point  type,  the  order  of  names  for  each 
column  upon  the  ballot  shall  be  the  same  as  the  order  in 
which  such  names  were  filed  with  the  secretary  of  the 
commonwealth;  provided,  that  above  the  individual  names 
in  each  column  shall  appear  the  group  of  names,  if  any, 
which  has  received  the  endorsement  referred  to  in  section  4 
of  this  act. 

A  blank  column  one-half  inch  wide  shall  be  left  upon 
the  ballot  opposite  each  group  of  names  and  to  the  right 
of  the  column  of  voting  squares  for  the  individual  names 
and  separated  from  it  by  a  light  dotted  line,  which  blank 
column  shall  contain  a  square  in  which  may  be  stamped  a 
cross  (X)  which  shall  be  counted  as  a  vote  for  each  and 
every  name  in  the  group  opposite.  Lengthwise  along  this 
blank  column  shall  be  printed  “A  cross  (X)  stamped  in 
this  square  shall  be  counted  for  each  name  of  the  group  to 
the  left.”  The  line  separating  any  name  from  any  other 
name  not  in  a  group  or  from  any  group  of  names  shall  be 


46 


heavier  than  any  line  separating  the  individual  names  in 
such  group,  and  shall  extend  across  the  blank  column  pro¬ 
vided  for  in  this  paragraph.  Below  the  top  line  of  this 
extension  shall  be  printed  in  small  heavy  face  type  the 
words  “top  of  group,”  and  above  the  bottom  line  of  the 
extension,  the  words  “end  of  group.” 

Section  6.  Each  candidate  for  election  as  delegate  to 
his  National  party  convention  may  include  with  his  affidavit 
the  statement  hereinafter  set  forth  in  this  section;  but  his 
failure  to  include  such  statement  shall  not  be  valid  ground 
on  the  part  of  the  secretary  of  the  commonwealth  for 
refusal  to  receive  and  file  his  nomination  paper  or  papers. 
Such  statement,  if  any  be  made,  shall  be  in  substantially  the 
following  form : 

DELEGATE’S  STATEMENT. 

I  hereby  declare  to  the  voters  of  my  political  party  in 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania  that  if  elected  as  delegate  to  their 
National  party  convention,  I  shall,  to  the  best  of  my  judg¬ 
ment  and  ability,  support  that  candidate  for  president  of  the 
United  States  who  shall  have  received  the  highest  number 
of  votes  cast  throughout  the  entire  State  by  the  voters  of 
my  party  for  said  office,  at  the  April  presidential  primary 
election. 


Signature  of  candidate  for  delegate. 

Section  7.  The  delegates  to  each  National  party  con¬ 
vention  elected  at  the  April  presidential  primary  election, 
shall,  before  leaving  the  State  to  attend  the  convention,  meet 
together  and  select  alternates  to  the  convention.  The  number 
of  alternates  to  be  selected  shall  be  no  greater  than  one  for 
each  delegate,  and  each  alternate  must  be  selected  from  the 
congressional  district  of  the  delegate  for  whom  he  is  an 
alternate ;  and  the  method  of  selection  shall  be  as  determined 
upon  by  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  delegates  who 


47 


have  been  elected  to  the  convention.  The  duties  of  an  alter¬ 
nate  shall  be  those  usually  appertaining  to  that  position,  and 
as  prescribed  by  each  party  in  the  call  for  its  National  con¬ 
vention.  The  alternate  of  any  such  delegate  as  may  be 
unable  to  attend  the  convention,  shall  attend  the  convention 
in  its  place,  and  shall  otherwise  discharge  the  duties  of  said 
delegate. 

Section  8.  For  purposes  of  the  April  presidential 
primary  election,  the  original  affidavits  of  registration  used 
in  the  last  general  election  in  any  county  or  city  and  county 
in  this  State,  shall  be  qualified  to  vote  at  such  election,  and 
shall  receive  the  ticket  of  that  political  party  only  with  which 
he  has  declared  himself  affiliated.  Any  person  qualified  by 
the  provisions  of  this  section  to  vote  at  any  April  presiden¬ 
tial  primary  election  shall  also  be  qualified  to  sign  the  nomi¬ 
nation  papers  of  any  person  to  be  voted  upon  at  such  primary 
election. 

Section  9.  The  ballot  to  be  used  at  the  April  presi¬ 
dential  primary  election  shall  be  prepared  according  to  the 
provisions  of  sections  2,  4  and  5  of  this  act,  and  also  accord¬ 
ing  to  such  provisions  of  the  “uniform  primary  act”  as 
are  applicable  to  this  act  and  not  in  conflict  with  its 
provisions ;  providing,  that  the  words  at  the  top  of  the  ballot 
shall  be  “Official  Presidential  Primary  Election  Ballot,”  and 
that  the  instructions  to  voters  shall  be  as  follows:  “To 
vote  for  a  person  whose  name  appears  on  the  ballot,  stamp 
a  cross  (X)  in  the  right  square  of  the  person  for  whom  you 
desire  to  vote;  or  if  you  wish  to  vote  for  all  of  a  group  of 
persons,  stamp  a  cross  (X)  in  the  square  opposite  such 
group,  which  shall  be  counted  for  each  name  of  the  group. 
A  group  consists  of  candidates  for  delegate  nominated  on 
the  same  nomination  paper.  To  vote  for  a  person  whose 
name  is  not  printed  on  the  ballot,  write  his  name  in  the 
blank  space  provided  for  that  purpose.”  There  shall  be 
printed  in  heavy  face,  twelve  point,  gothic  type,  across  the 


3  0112  061896863 


48 


page  above  the  column  of  candidates  for  delegates,  the 
words,  “For  Delegates  to  National  Convention  Vote  for 

- ,  either  as  individuals  or  by  group,  but  do  not 

vote  for  more  than - ”  (the  blanks  being  filled 

in  by  the  number  of  delegates  to  be  elected  by  the  political 
party  concerned). 

Section  io.  The  provisions  of  the  “Uniform  Pri¬ 
mary  Law”  shall  govern  the  April  presidential  primary 
election  in  so  far  as  said  provisions  are  applicable  to  said 
election  and  are  not  inconsistent  with  or  in  conflict  with  the 
provisions  of  this  act. 

Section  i  i  .  This  act  shall  be  known  as  the  Presiden¬ 
tial  Primary  Act. 

Section  12.  All  acts  and  parts  of  acts  inconsistent 
with  or  in  conflict  with  the  provisions  of  this  act  are  hereby 
repealed. 


